


Rehabilitation

by QueenOfTheMerryMen



Series: Rehabilitation [1]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Mourning Daniel, Platonic Outlaw Queen, Wheelchairs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-27
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-05-29 14:03:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 32
Words: 23,042
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15074732
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenOfTheMerryMen/pseuds/QueenOfTheMerryMen
Summary: Regina's life is turned upside down when a car crash takes away her husband and her ability to walk. In order to hold onto the one thing she has left - her adoptive son - she turns to the person she trusts the least, her husband's foster brother Robin. A world-class physical therapist he's the only person who can get her back on her feet before she loses custody.





	1. Social Worker Comes to Visit

Regina watched as the social worker walked through her home. She tried to keep her hands from trembling as she held Henry close in her lap. Anxiety rose in her chest when she saw her eye the staircase curiously.    
  
"So you haven't been on the second level since your accident? Is that right?"    
  
Regina forced herself to nod. "Yes, it's a bit more difficult for me now, as I'm sure you can see."    
  
She tapped the wheels of her chair for emphasis, silently cursing her reliance on it for the millionth time.    
  
The social worker sent her a sympathetic look. "Last I checked, Henry's nursery was upstairs."    
  
"Yes that is true," Regina nervously stammered, averting her gaze. "But he's been more than comfortable downstairs with me. Everything he needs is absolutely within reach."    
  
She gestured toward the crib and play area she'd had set up next to the kitchen. It was efficient and workable... but it wasn't as warm as the yellow painted nursery she'd put together upstairs. She knew that.    
  
Pushing down her self-pity she quickly added, "But this is all temporary as I'm sure you've been told. The doctor says that with proper physical therapy my legs should be completely functional within a year."    
  
"And that's excellent news Regina," the social worker softly replied, taking a seat across from her. "But it doesn't change the fact that your situation has drastically changed since Henry was placed in your care."    
  
A lump formed in Regina's throat as she held her son closer. "I know," she mumbled.    
  
Her eyes flickered to the photo on the coffee table. Only taken eight months ago it was a picture of the first day they'd brought Henry home. She and Daniel had been sitting on the same couch the social worker sat on now, marveling over their new baby boy. They'd had so many plans for the future, so many hopes and dreams... but they were dead now, along with her husband.    
  
The car accident had killed them.    
  
"I can make it work," Regina tried to assured her, her breath turning heavy. "Just, please don't take my son, please..."    
  
"I don't want to," the social worker promised. "But I have to be blunt Regina... it doesn't look good right now." She sighed, sympathetic. "In the past month you've lost your spouse, half your income and your ability to walk. The judge will be concerned."    
  
"So what am I supposed to do? I'm doing my best."    
  
"I know," she said, reaching out to squeeze her hand. "But right now that's not enough. You need to consider some additional help."    
  
Regina knitted her eyebrows together. "Like a nurse?"    
  
"More like a nanny," the social worker clarified. "Full-time, possibly live-in. Just until you're recovered. It'll put the judge's mind at ease."    
  
Regina sharply exhaled. A full-time nanny? Not the cheapest expense, especially with medical bills piling up and having to rely on her income alone. There was no way she could afford it... but she couldn't afford to lose her baby either.    
  
"Fine," she whispered. "I'll start looking for some help."


	2. Robin's Arrival

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Robin released a deep breath as he looked up at the house where his brother once lived. He hadn't been there in years, not since Roland was born and Daniel had guilted him and Marian into a visit. He'd planned to return the favor when he learned of Henry's adoption but... things came up, like always.    
  
He knew he should've come sooner, should've hopped on a flight for the funeral but grief had never been something he was good at. Emotions were always Daniel's strong suit.    
  
Swallowing his guilt, he forced himself to knock on the door. He heard soft rumbling behind the door before it shakily opened revealing the woman behind it. The sight of her in the chair took his breath away, rendering him speechless. He'd been told, of course, about the accident what it had taken from him, what it'd taken from her but seeing it in person... well, the reality was overwhelming.    
  
She immediately clenched her jaw at the sight of him, her eyes darkening as she took him in. He knew she'd never been fond of him but now she was pissed. "Robin..."    
  
"Regina..." He tried not to squirm underneath her judgement. "Can I come in?"    
  
He saw her suck in a shuddering breath, an attempt to not unleash her wrath upon him. For a moment he thought she'd tell him to fuck off but instead she simply pressed her lips together before rolling her chair back to allow him inside.    
  
The minute he stepped over the threshold he was assaulted by Daniel's memories. His pictures were everywhere, old pieces of furniture and relics he knew that he'd picked were all around, memories jumped through the walls left and right. It was like walking into a mausoleum.    
  
Regina stared at him from her chair, one eyebrow lifted in his direction as she hammered him with her silence.    
  
"I... how are you?"    
  
She immediately scoffed. "Guess."    
  
He shut his eyes ashamed. "I'm sorry..."    
  
"That you couldn't make it to your foster brother's funeral?" She shook her head. "Don't worry I wasn't expecting to see you there."    
  
"Something came up," he mumbled.    
  
"Something always comes up with you," she sharply replied. Humming in pain, she paused. "Why are you here Robin?"    
  
"I wanted to check on you... and Henry."    
  
She pressed her lips together, nodding before shrugging her shoulders. "Why?"    
  
"Because that's what family does." He paused, averting his gaze to the floor. "And you two are the only family I have left now."    
  
Saying it aloud stung, harder than he ever thought it would. Family had always been a rare commodity for him but he'd had Daniel for much longer than he'd deserved. And now that he was gone there was only one person in the world who understood just what he'd lost... but she didn't seem so fond of him at the moment.    
  
Regina eyed him suspiciously, still not quite willing to trust. Finally she tilted her head toward the hallway. "Your nephew's in the living room. Do you want to see him?"    
  
"Yes."


	3. A Brother's Concern

It shouldn't grate at her so much, seeing him with Henry. He is her son's nephew... technically. She knows they would've met at some point but it's painful seeing her son in the arms of another man, when all she wants is to see him in the arms of his father.    
  
Robin sat on the floor with Henry on his lap, silently taking in his nephew with a tempered smile.    
  
"He looks amazing," Robin whispered.    
  
"He is," Regina replied, the edges of her lips turning upwards. That eight-month old boy in his arms was the only reason she opened her eyes in the morning, he was the only thing left that matters.    
  
"Is his adoption finalized?"    
  
A spike goes through her heart. She bites her lip. "It was supposed to be." When Robin sends her a confused look, she sighs. "The judge has chosen to delay his approval in light of my new circumstances."    
  
She sees his eyes flit to the chair once again and a spark of anger goes through her. "It's bullshit. I'm still his mother and I can still take care of him."    
  
Her voice comes out hot and harsh, stony in its conviction. She was going to get out of this damn chair and she was going to adopt her son, come hell or high water. Circumstances be damned.    
  
Robin cleared his throat, hesitantly. "You know if you need help..."    
  
"Then I'll hire someone," she says, cutting him off. "I'll be alright."    
  
She nips his offer right in the bud, she'd heard it more than enough over the past few weeks and no one ever meant it. She didn't need his help. She didn't need anybody.    
  
Henry crawls out of Robin's lap, bored, and makes his way over to Regina's feet, happily smiling as he taps her foot, not that she can feel it. She forces a smile to her face as she grits her teeth, twisting down in her chair to pick him up. Pain shoots through her back and she muffles a whimper.    
  
In a flash Robin is on his feet, kneeling to pick him up and spare her the pain.    
  
"Don't!" she bites out. "I don't need your help to take care of my son."    
  
"Yeah well, might consider some help to take care of your spine," Robin snaps back, slipping into nurse mode. He eyes her cautiously as he places Henry in her lap. "How often do you bend over to pick him up?"    
  
Regina glowers at him, pulling Henry to her chest. "What does that matter?"    
  
"It matters because it fucks with your spine's healing time," Robin barks at her, authoritatively. "Now how often do you do it?"    
  
Regina clenches her jaw, turning away from him. "Just... a few times a day when he needs to crawl around. He needs the exercise."    
  
"And you need to keep your back straight," Robin replied, stepping behind her chair. He hesitantly reached out. "Do you mind?"    
  
She didn't want to admit that her back had been killing her, especially not to him of all people. Allowing herself to be vulnerable had never been easy for her but somewhere inside she heard Daniel's voice, urging her to accept his brother's help.


	4. What Happened to Marian

A huff of breath fell from her lips as she felt Robin's hand drift down her back, gently tracing the outline of her spine. She hissed as he neared closer to her lower back.    
  
"What'd they tell you about it?" he gently asked.    
  
"It's in my lumbar region," she replied, going over the prognosis in her head like she done a million times before. "It's an incomplete spinal injury, grade C. I've still got some feeling and a rough road ahead of me."    
  
"A rough road but not an impossible one," he said, removing his hand from her back. Sitting in front of her he searched her face. "You're gonna walk again Regina. I can tell."    
  
She smirked at him, annoyed. "I didn't know physical therapists were clairvoyant."    
  
"We're not," he replied, crossing his arms. "But after years of doing you start to see the how far determination can push a person... and you've got more determination than I've ever seen."    
  
The solemn optimism in his voice touched her soul, snapping her back to nights spent in bed, in Daniel's arm. All those times he'd told her he believed in her, all those words she'd never hear again.    
  
"Where were you?" she whispers. The question slips from her lips, without her permission. She thought she didn't care but seeing Robin here now, sitting in front of her when she'd sat at his brother's funeral alone... she had to know. "Why weren't you there?"    
  
Robin hissed, letting out a deep-seated breath. "I couldn't be away from Roland."    
  
"Why?"    
  
"Because there was no one else there to watch him." He clenched his jaw. "Marian left us... two days before the accident."    
  
Regina's eyes widened. "What?"    
  
Robin rolled his eyes. "She told me that she wasn't happy. I said we'd work on it, then came home to find that she'd taken all of her stuff and some of mine... and ran off." He shrugged. "Still haven't heard from her."    
  
Huffing in surprise, Regina shook her head. She'd never figure Marian for the abandoning type, at least not in the few times they'd met. Running her hand over Henry's head she thought of Roland. What kind of mother would just leave her child?    
  
"Well... good riddance."    
  
Robin scoffed. "Figured you'd be more disappointed you always liked her more than me."    
  
"I like a lot of people more than you," she replied with a smirk. "If she couldn't hack it then you don't need her."    
  
"Wish I had your confidence," he whispered his eyes dropping down to his hands. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do now."    
  
She's never seen him with so little bravado. He's all sadness and no swagger, an image that doesn't fit him at all. She doesn't want to feel sorry for him, still doesn't think he deserves it but a small part of her does feel for him. And another part of her is just satisfied that her life isn't the only one that's been turned on its axis this month.


	5. An Offer

Sitting on his bed, Robin toyed with his phone apprehensively. He hadn't been able to stop think about Henry and Regina since he'd seen them the day before. There whole lives had been turned upside down by his brother's death... and he could relate. He glanced at the other side of his bed where Roland slept, splayed out on his belly. He still hadn't figured out how to explain Marian's absence, wasn't sure that he wanted to yet. It would make everything too real.    
  
Sighing, he looked around the room. He'd learned a long time ago there was no use in resisting change. The only thing you could do was bend to it.    
  
He clicked on Regina's number, hearing her mumble a soft "hello" upon answering.    
  
"Hey I was just wondering if you'd started physical therapy yet?"    
  
She paused, confused. "Not intensively. Just some work to make sure I can get in and out of the chair."    
  
"Okay..." He bit his lip, taking a moment to gather some courage. "You should let me be your physical therapist."    
  
"I already have someone," she immediately replied.    
  
"Has your person gotten someone out of a wheelchair before? Because I have," he reminded her. It'd been years ago. A young man, a young swimmer actually, had an unfortunate fall. Doctors said it would've taken years to get him out of the chair. Robin had done it in 11 months. In his head, It was the only thing he'd done that made him worthy of Daniel's admiration.    
  
He heard Regina sigh and knew she was considering his offer. "It's not exactly something you can do over the phone Robin."    
  
"I realize that," he softly replied. "And if it's okay with you... I was thinking Roland and I could move in for a while, at least while I help you."    
  
Another breath passed from the speaker. "Why?" she asked, her voice coming out tired and hesitant.    
  
His eyes drifted over to an old picture on his dresser, one of him and Daniel as kids, the only photo he'd had of them for a very long time. "Because I still owe him... and you know that."    
  
She stayed silent on the other end of the line for a long moment until he finally heard her suck her teeth. "You'll have to share a room with Roland."    
  
"That's fine," he said, a smile drifting onto his face. "If I can sleep next to Daniel's snores, I can sleep anywhere."    
  
A bright unexpected laugh erupted from Regina at the mention of her husband's sleep apnea. If there was one thing they could agree on it was that Daniel snored like a lumberjack's chainsaw. A sound they both missed more than they ever thought they would.    
  
"When can you get started?" she asked.    
  
"As soon as possible."


	6. Roland's Arrival

She's still a little apprehensive about this. If you'd told her two years ago that she'd be welcoming Robin Locksely into her home, she would've said it was a nightmare come true. Waiting in her wheelchair for him to show up, it's clear she wasn't wrong. Of all the ways for this to happen she's sure this was the absolute worst but it was a necessity.    
  
She hadn't wanted to say so but she needed the help, for Henry's sake as well as her own. Robin might be an ass but he was a damn good therapist and that was what she needed.    
  
It wasn't long before Robin pulled up to the curb in his forest green pick up, nearly everything he own piled into the bed of it. She tried to swallow her anxiety as he climbed out of the driver's seat and sent her a wave before opening the backseat door and helping a three-year-old boy out onto the curb.    
  
She'd only seen her nephew three times before, the last time being more than a year prior. He was even more adorable than she remembered. In a way she only became a mother because of the boy in front of her. Having a nephew, seeing the bond that Robin shared with his son, was the final thing to convince Daniel he was ready to be a father.    
  
She shifted uncomfortably as Robin walked Roland up the porch steps and he eyed her warily. Silently, she braced herself for the moment he'd ask about her "special chair."    
  
Robin gestured toward her. "Roland, say hi to your Aunt Regina."    
  
Roland crinkled his nose confused. "I thought you said I only had an Uncle Daniel."    
  
A knife goes through her heart but she still manages to smile. "You did sweetie, I'm his wife. Which makes me your aunt."    
  
He raises his eyebrows surprised. "Really?"    
  
Humming affirmatively, she nods. "You have a baby cousin too. Henry."    
  
Dimples flash as a happy smile appears on his face. "Cool!"    
  
She welcomes the two of them inside her home, watches as Robin helps Roland hold Henry for the first time, a grin on his face the entire time. A part of her is still nervous about what's to come, but underneath it all a sense of relief swells up inside of her as a chunk of emptiness fades away.


	7. Mothers

Robin didn't remember his mother that much, she'd dropped him off at a church when he was only five years old. He remembered that she had really long hair and a gentle laugh. That she loved taking him to the park, pushing him on the swings and saying that there was nowhere else she'd rather be than by his side. He also remembered that she slept a lot, that she always had "medicine" around the house but not a lot of food. He remembered how sunken and tearful her eyes had looked when she'd asked that nun to look after him and promised that she'd be right back. It was the first time he knew that someone was lying to him.    
  
Growing up Robin realized that there was nothing in world as valuable as a mother's love. Having it could change your whole damn life.    
  
Henry has it.    
  
He'd been going to a kitchen for a snack when he heard Regina from the top of the stairs, a soft melody being whispered from her lips. She sung to him as he rested in her arms, ready to be put down for the night.    
  
The love he sees between them is like sunlight. Warm, bright, relentless and life giving. He always knew she'd make a good mother. Even though she didn't like him, he'd seen the nurturer inside of her and had always admired it.    
  
Chair or not, Henry needed her. He needed her love. Once he went back to the system his chances of ever getting anything close to it were slim.    
  
Silently, Robin vowed to get Regina out of her wheelchair. Henry's future depended on it.


	8. June 3rd

Physical therapy is no picnic. Regina knew that going in. The doctors hadn't minced words with her. With an injury like hers the recovery would be long and rough. But she was determined not to let their words deter her. She would walk again. She had to for her son's sake.    
  
But her resolve didn't make things any easier.    
  
As promised Robin got her started on a regimen right away, strengthening her upper body, making sure her leg muscles didn't atrophy in the mean time. He didn't hold back. Most days he pushed her harder than expected, until her body ached and her teeth felt like they would crack from all the time spent clenching her jaw in effort.    
  
She endured it. It was necessary that she did so... but it was hard. And some days as she laid in bed, trying in vain to move her legs, it struck her just how insurmountable her task was and how futile her efforts seemed.    
  
They were three months in when she finally broke.    
  
It was already a rough day. June 3rd but she tried to ignore that. She'd been making Henry his lunch, reached for his baby food on the kitchen counter. She'd underestimated the distance and fallen out of her chair.    
  
The thud reverberated through her bones and she heard Robin run to the kitchen as shame filled her cheeks with a blush. He'd put his hands on her and it'd just became too much.    
  
"Don't touch me!" she'd growled, pulling herself into a sitting position.    
  
Immediately, stepping back Robin watched as she reached for her chair with gritted teeth. "I am only trying to help Regina."    
  
"Well I don't want your help Robin!" she cried. "I don't want you here! This is not your home! You are not the one who should be with me!"    
  
Her shouts were still echoing through the house when the tears ran down her cheeks. She ran her hand down her face, still crying. "I want my husband," she whispered. "I want... to walk. I just want to feel normal again."    
  
Robin kneeled next to her as she sat on the kitchen floor. "Regina... that's not gonna happen," he gently whispered. "You been through so much, you lost things that can't be replaced... going back to normal isn't an option. That's not what you should be fighting for. If you're gonna fight for something... fight for a new normal. A new way to be alright."    
  
Regina swallowed a lump in her throat as she listened to him, nodding softly when he asked if she wanted help getting back in the chair. Once back in it, she dropped her eyes to the floor. "I'm sorry."    
  
Robin just squeezed her shoulder supportively. "It's your first anniversary without him. You can scream at me all you like."


	9. First Steps

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Can you please write something in the Rehab AU? Maybe something where Robin (and Roland) help Regina with Henry?

Henry takes his first steps before she does.    
  
They were all there for it. Robin had been cooking dinner in the kitchen while she watched the boys in the living room. Cartoons played on the TV but Roland only had eyes for his baby cousin. His father's son, he'd taken to helping Henry learn how to use his legs, always guiding him around the room by his hands while Henry followed taking short, stumbling steps. After weeks of this Henry still hadn't been able to move on his own. He could stand for a short while but steps had eluded him... until that night.    
  
Regina watched from her chair as Roland yet again guided Henry around only to let go of his hands after a few minutes. "C'mon Henry you can do it." he encouraged.    
  
Henry stood on his own for a few seconds, before taking one short wobbly step in Roland's direction. When she saw it her eyes widened and a sharp gasp fell from her lips. Still wobbling Henry took another uncertain step and Roland clapped his hands.    
  
"Oh my god!" she cried. "Robin's he's walking!"    
  
Robin spun around from the stove his jaw dropping in awe when he saw his nephew taking his first steps. He fumbled to pull his cell phone out of his pocket as he rushed over to film the momentous occasion.    
  
A tear fell down Regina's cheek as she watched him stumble along for two more steps before falling down on all fours. "Oh you did it! You walked!"


	10. Daniel's Resting Place

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Can you write something for the wheelchair universe where Regina visits Daniel’s grave with Robin and the kids and Robin promises his brother that he’ll take care of Regina and Henry?

Daniel doesn't have a grave. 

He'd never wanted one. For as long as Robin could remember, even back to the early days when he'd first met him as that gangly ten-year-old who'd showed up in his first foster home so scared of what would happen next, Daniel had let it be known that he didn't want to be put in the ground. The thought it had always chilled him. Of course, Regina knew this as well, which is why she'd made sure that he was cremated and that his ashes were spread in a place that was special to him. 

Stanley Park. 

This small green place not far from where he'd first grown up with his birth parents before they died. There was a tree where they used to have picnics, Daniel had loved that tree. Robin remembers the days when his brother would run away just to sit there and pretend like things hadn't changed for him, even though they had. Everytime he found him, he could never find it in his heart to force him to leave. It made sense that Regina spread his ashes there. It's what he would've done too. It's what Daniel would've wanted. 

Robin missed the funeral and even after that it still takes him weeks to gather the courage to head over to the park. It's Regina who forces him to go. He's put it off for long enough and she tells him so. They take the boys with them. Allow for Roland to push Henry on the swings while Regina watches from the nearby sidewalk. She tells him to go to the tree on his own. It's for the best. Grief doesn't need an audience. 

It's spring and when he walks up to the tree he can see that it's blooming with leaves and small flower buds on it's branches. It certainly looks better than he feels. His chest feels tight as he lowers himself to sit beneath it, his back against the bark so he can look out at the park just in case Regina or the boys need him. There's a lump in his throat as he watches them, finally understanding what it must've felt like for Daniel all those years ago when he'd come here after his parents died. 

From where he sits, he can almost see things as they should be. 

His brother should be here. Regina should be walking and Daniel should be there to see his son grow up, to push him on the swings as Roland is now. The fact that he's not here... it's not right. 

Taking a deep breath, he blinks away the tears and runs his hands over the grass, trying to get a grip on his reality again. Daniel is gone. He can't change that, he can't erase it, all he can do is deal with it the best way he knows how. And that means taking care of the things that mattered most to him. 

"I will make sure they're ok," he whispers. "I can't repay you for all that you did for me when you were her but I can promise you that your family will be alright. I will make sure of it." 

He reaches back to rest his hand against the bark. "I promise." 


	11. Big Toe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: In a moment of wanting to give up, Regina notices she has more feeling than she did previously and it renews her motivation.

Before the accident Regina hadn't given much thought to her feet. 

Sure, she got the occasional pedicure, a misguided toe ring during college but she never thought of how much she used them. How much she enjoyed putting on her shoes, feeling sand beneath her feet and wiggling her toes. God, what she'd give to wiggle her toes. 

Every week after physical therapy Robin would lay her on a table and check the feeling in her legs. He'd run an instrument up and down her calf asking if she felt anything, even the slightest tickle. And every week she'd say no, she felt nothing, not even the ghost of a touch. And afterwards, he'd always ask her to try and wiggle her toes. She never could. It'd been four months of sweating and effort and heartbreak and she still couldn't wiggle her damn toes. It was ludicrous. It was frustrating. It was... hopeless. 

It had finally begun to sink in that her situation was hopeless. All this effort, all this physical therapy, it was for nothing. She was stuck in the chair. That was her life now. She should stop trying to "fix it" and just accept it. Adapt, adjust and fight like hell to make it work for Henry's sake. There was not point in doing otherwise. 

So when Robin laid her out on that table for the sixteenth time, she found herself not in the mood. 

"Try and wiggle your toes." 

"No." 

Robin's eyes whipped to her face, concerned by the blunt, forceful exhaustion in her tone. He sighed, setting down his clipboard. "You can't wiggle your toes? Or you just don't want to try?" 

She looked up at him, her jaw clenched in frustration and her eyes desperately trying to hide pain. "I can't move my toes Robin. I've tried. Every time I've been on this table, every time I lay in bed, every time I get a minute where I think it might happen I try. And I can't do it. I'm done." 

Robin crossed his arms, the expression on his face stern as he looked down at her. "You're not done. You won't be done until I say you're done." 

She scoffed at him. "Robin..." 

"Do you have a medical degree Regina?" He cut her off, raising an eyebrow in her direction. "Did I just miss the time you spend in med school and years of training you have under your belt? Because if you think you know better than me right now, you better be able to back it up with a diploma because if you can't, you are wrong." 

Regina rolled her eyes, averting her gaze but he still didn't pull back. "Regina it is not just my job to keep your muscles strong and teach you how to sit up on your own. It's also to notice when you've fallen into that deep dark hole of despair and self-pity. It's my job to reach in, pull you out and remind you that things you're trying to do are not impossible." 

Clenching her fists, Regina pressed her lips together trying not to show how much his words got to her. 

"Regina... look at me." 

She didn't want to but she forced herself to look into his determined blue eyes. 

"The things you're trying to do are not impossible," he reminded her. "But they will become impossible the minute you stop trying. So... try and wiggle your toes." 

She hates him. She hates him so much for not letting her sink into herself, give up and be done like she wants to be. Yet, somehow it doesn't stop her from doing as he says. 

Sitting up on her elbows, she grits her teeth, focusing all her energy on moving her toes. It's hard, so much harder than she likes or she wants... but she sees it briefly... movement with her big toe. 

Robin grins. "Did you see that?" 

"Yes." Tears threaten to spill from her eyes, as a shaky gasp escapes her. 

She did it. 

She wiggled her big toe. 


	12. Goodnight Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Can you write something domestic for Rehab AU?

When she and Daniel had first adopted Henry, the one piece of advice that they'd gotten from everyone was that bedtime routines were sacred. Once you found one that worked, you praised god and then you stick with it because if your baby sleeps well, so do you.    
  
Henry had always been a good sleeper. A nice warm bath in the sink, a lullaby from her and he'd drift off as soon as his head hit the pillow.    
  
But Henry wasn't the only child in the house anymore.    
  
Since Robin had moved in, she'd noticed that Roland hadn't been sleeping well. He stayed up late, roamed the halls well past his bedtime and refused to sleep alone. She had hoped that he'd adjust as time went on but nothing had worked so far.    
  
She was heading to bed herself one night when he appeared in her doorway, still dressed in his pajama, clearly sleepy but eyes wide open.    
  
"Roland?" Her eyes glanced toward the clock on her nightstand. "It's past ten. What are you doing up?"    
  
He shrugged climbing on to the bed with her. "I can't sleep."    
  
"Why not sweetheart?"    
  
"There's no Good Moon," he mumbled.    
  
She knit her eyebrows together, confused. "Good Moon? What is that?"    
  
"Mama's book," he softly replied, looking defeated. "I need it for bed."    
  
Regina's breath hitched in her throat. Marian was a sore subject around the house. Robin never spoke of her and as far as she knew he still hadn't heard from her either. It just seemed painful to bring her up.    
  
She ran her fingers through his curls as he sat next to her. "Well... I'll read it to you. Do you have it?"    
  
Roland nodded before running upstairs and returning with a children's picture book. She saw it's green cover and smiled, caught off guard by nostalgia. Goodnight Moon. Her father used to read it to her when she was child. Marian must've done the same for Roland. It was his bedtime routine.    
  
He cuddled into her side as she flipped open the book and started to read.    
  
"In the great green room, there was a telephone and red balloon."


	13. Little Doctor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Roland pretending to be a doctor to help Regina get better.

Regina shivered as Roland pressed the cold stethoscope to her chest.  
  
It was early in the morning and they were playing Little Doctor, Roland's new favorite game. Two weeks ago he'd discovered an old doctor's bag at the thrift store that he'd convinced his father to buy for him. Ever since then he'd been pretending to heal everyone in the house.  
  
They'd just finished breakfast when he ran to get his "lab coat" - which is was actually one of his father's white button-down shirts - and asked her to "step into his office."  
  
"Your heart is thumping loud," he observed.  
  
"Oh no! Is that bad?" Regina feigned worry, widening her eyes for him.  
  
Roland nodded his head, glumly. "You'll need a lot of medicine to fix it."  
  
"What type of medicine?" she asked, playing along.  
  
"12 gushy kisses," he said, reaching for his notepad. "I'll write your 'scription'"  
  
"Gushy kisses?" she complained, taking the slip of paper he'd scribbled on.  
  
"Extra gushy," said Roland, with a firm nod of his head. "Would you like them now or later?"  
  
Regina tilted her head, pretending to think. "I want them... now!"  
  
Roland leaned over the arm of her chair to rapidly pepper her cheek with kisses. "There you go! You're all better!"  
  
"Yay!!" They both cheered and laughed. Still smiling, Regina watched as he moved on to examine one of his stuffed animals. Little Doctor was starting to become one of her favorite games too.


	14. The Day They Met

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When she's nervous about a new step in therapy, Robin reminds Regina of the day they met.

 

 

Regina eyed the railings nervously from her chair. Parallel walking bars is what they're called. Robin told her that they're just one of the many tools they'll be using to help her relearn to walk.

It'd been weeks since she first wiggled her big toe. Physical therapy has been three times as intense, as Robin has become more determined for her to regain complete feeling in her legs. Some days she wanted to scream at him but she couldn't deny his attitude has lead to progress. She could now move all her toes on both feet, regained control of her ankles and feeling up to her mid thigh. All that was left was relearning the motion and regaining the strength to actually walk. Hence the bars.

Robin eyed her with that annoying, knowing look on his face. "You nervous?"

"About you putting your hands on my waist? A little bit," she snarkily deflected.

Robin rolled his eyes, sighing. "Regina you should know that after seven months, your sarcasm is getting old."

Grimacing in annoyance she rolls her eyes. "Sorry," she mumbles. "I'm just... not sure I'm ready for this."

He nods understandingly. "The bars can be a little intimidating, I know but you've worked so hard. You can do this."

She just grumbles noncommittally, still staring apprehensively at the bars. "Doesn't mean it'll be easy."

Robin smiles at her. "Do you remember the day we met?"

Regina scrunches up her eyebrows, confused. "Yes, Daniel took me to this stupid sports bar next to where you lived."

"Mm-hmm," he nodded. "And as usual I was late and your meter ran out."

"The beginning of a very long list of things I blame you for."

"Right," he chuckled. "Anyway, the two of you left and found a cop giving you a ticket, which you said was extremely unfair considering you'd paid for two hours and were only five minutes late."

She smirked at the memory of that night. God, Daniel had spent nearly 20 minutes trying to convince her to stop arguing with the cop and just accept the ticket.

"Eventually you left and I thought you'd just pay the ticket and be done with it," reminisced Robin. "But then five days later I get a call from my brother chewing me out, because you'd decided to take it to court and argue your case."

"He told you about that?"

"Yep." Robin nodded. "He also told me that you won and that he thought the judge was a little afraid of you."

Regina softly giggled. She had been more than a little fierce that day but she also knew that things had been tight for Daniel around that time and that he couldn't afford to pay a $200 parking ticket.

"Look, working with these parallel bars is gonna be hard but you've never struck me as the type of person who shied away from a challenge. So why don't we give this a try?"

She smirks at him. "Did you learn about pep talks in school or are you self-taught?"

"It was a six-month course and I passed with flying colors," he shot back. Smiling, he gestured toward the bars. "Now if you're done with the sarcasm..."

Still nervous but better motivated, she put her hands on the bars and let him lift her up by her waist. After a deep breath she takes her first step.

 


	15. The Church

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina hasn't been out of her house much, so Robin decides to take her and the kids out to a special place.

 

Regina and Robin didn't socialize much, not even around the house in the beginning. Other than taking care  of the boys together, they tried to stay out of each other's way. So it surprised her when he asked her to run an errand with him.

 

Her eyes narrowed, immediately suspicious. "Why?"

 

He shrugged, unsure how to answer. "Because... I could use the company."

 

She just continued to stare until he rolled his eyes.

 

"And I've noticed that you haven't been out of the house lately."

 

She bristled at his observation. Going out had been stressful since the accident. Just being seen made her feel self-conscious and with the chair and the ramps and the special van it just felt like everyone was staring at her.

 

"I have all I need in the house," she muttered.

 

"Everything except human interaction," he replied.

 

"So what? You wanna take me to a party?"

 

"Not with this attitude," he said, shaking his head. "I'm doing a favor for some old friends, Roland's helping too. I figured you and Henry might want to come along." 

 

She just reluctantly groaned, in response. "Pass." 

 

"It's good for you to get out," he reminded her. "Not just for you but Henry too. When's the last time he left this house?" 

 

A scowl appeared on her face. It was an underhanded move, bringing up Henry, but an effective one. She could hardly remember the last time she took him to the park, it must've been weeks ago. Sighing, she rolled her eyes. "Fine, where are we going?"

 

"To meet up with a group of lovely ladies." 

\----------------

 

Going out was a hassle. With a four year-old, a baby and her wheelchair she didn't envy Robin when it became time to load them up into the car. Still it was nice to be out. 

 

She thought they'd go to a bar or park, or some other low-key place. Imagine her surprise when she saw him pull into the parking lot of a church. Rolling out of the car she tried to keep the shock off her face. Robin had taken her to a beautiful cathedral, Catholic if the nuns were any indication. She glared at him, as he helped Roland and Henry out of the van. 

 

"If this is your way of getting me to accept God's plan, you are in for a rough afternoon I promise you." 

 

Robin chuckled, unbothered by her annoyance. "Don't flatter yourself. This trip is not about you, I promise."  

 

Taking the ramp up to the church doors, and into the cathedral she noticed Robin seemed more than at home in this place. He greeted several nun by name as they headed inside and they all seemed familiar with him. Soon after, one of them greeted them by the alter. 

 

"Robin!" She greeted him with a hug. "Thank the Lord your here!" 

 

"Sister Joanna." He smiled at her. "I'm always happy to help out. What broke this time?" 

 

"A bookcase in the deacon's study," she answered. "I'd prefer to replace it but apparently it has sentimental value." 

 

Robin nodded, understandingly. "I can fix it. I'll just get the tools from the supply closet." 

 

He then gestured toward Regina and Henry. "This is my sister-in-law Regina and the baby boy in her lap is Henry." 

 

The nun nodded at them both. She was a short, stout woman with kind, brown eyes and a warm smile but Regina still squirmed under her gaze.  Nuns had always unsettled her. 

 

"Would you mind keeping them company while Roland and I work on the bookcase." 

 

"Not at all," said Sister Joanna. "Take your time." 

 

Watching them walk away, Regina tried to banish all the impure thoughts from her head. She was sitting in a church, she reminded herself. It wasn't proper for her to think of all the many ways she'd like to kill her brother-in-law while she was in God's house. 

 

"I'd love to show you too around," said Sister Joanna. "Would you mind if I pushed you?" 

 

Regina hesitated before forcing a smile to her face. "Knock yourself out." 

\------------

 

To Regina's surprise Sister Joanna wasn't as stern or strict as she'd imagined most nuns to be. She was friendly, animated and, as Regina learned during her tour, quite the gossip. As they walked through the halls she regaled her with tales of feuds between nuns and competitions between priests. She almost made the church seem like an interesting place to live. 

 

But of course their conversation couldn't remain lighthearted forever. 

 

They paused in the courtyard, to allow Henry the chance to stretch his legs in the grass. Taking a seat on a nearby bench, Sister Joanna sent her sympathetic look. "I was so sorry to hear about your husband. I hope you know you have my condolences." 

 

"Oh." A spike went through Regina's heart. "Thank you, that's nice of you." 

 

"He was a very sweet man," continued Sister Joanna. "Oh he used to make me laugh during his visits." 

 

Regina tilted her head, confused. "You knew Daniel?" 

 

"Oh yes!" She nodded. "He and Robin used to visit at least once a week when they were boys. We started giving them odd jobs around the church for extra money." 

 

"Huh, I didn't know that," she mumbled. It was a strange feeling, learning things about Daniel that she didn't know. Things he'd never gotten to tell her. 

 

She shook her head. "It's funny, I never saw Robin as the church going type." 

 

"Oh he isn't," agreed Joanna, letting out a hearty laugh. "I couldn't get him to mass even if I had him hogtied and dragged by a mule." 

 

Regina knit her eyebrows together. "Well, then why does he keep visiting?" 

 

Sister Joanna's eyes turned sad. "Oh dear... this was where he was left." 

 

Regina paused, her heart thumping in her chest. "You mean by his mother." 

 

Looking around, she felt as though she was suddenly intruding in a very personal space. She didn't know much about Robin's mother, he never talked about her. Daniel had only said, in passing, that she'd abandoned him when he was about five years old. 

 

Sister's Joanna nodded her head sadly. "I was here that day in fact. He'd just been a tiny boy then, barely came above my knee. And his mother, well, she was just... sick, I'll call it. So thin and shaking." She pauses, shaking her head. "Promised to come right back for him but..." 

 

"She never did," Regina finished, her stomach twisting. 

 

She always knew that Daniel and Robin had grown up together in the foster system but she'd never given much thought to how Robin ended up there and what he'd endured afterwards. The thought of him waiting inside this church for his mother to return made her heart ache. 

 

"Is that why he comes back here?" she asks. "You think he's still waiting for her to show up." 

 

Sister Joanna shrugged her shoulders. "It's hard to imagine he isn't." 


	16. The New Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina makes a new friend at therapy and Robin has some feelings about it.

 

 

He's not jealous.

Jealously, isn't the right word. Worried or protective? Those felt more fitting.

Regina had made a new friend and if it had been any other person in the world, he might've been glad. But it just had to be Killian Jones.

Black-hair, blue eyes and a devilish smile, Killian showed up at the physical therapy office a month ago. A boating accident had taken his right hand but apparently, hadn't done much to affect his flirtatious demeanor. He and Regina had been helping each out at therapy lately. She'd been playing catch with him to help him learn to instinctively rely on his remaining hand and he'd been sticking around lately to cheer her on during her time on the parallel bars. Though cheering could be loosely translated into catcalling.

Maybe it was just that it was at his place at business, or that she was his brother's widow but it just... burned him.

One day after his session Killian came up to him asking for her and perhaps he was a bit harsher than he should be in relaying that she was home with the boys. As he watched him walk away with a perplexed look, he couldn't help adding, "She's a widow, you know?"

Killian turned around with a raised eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"She was married... to my brother." Robin elaborated. "It's been less than a year since he died. So perhaps you could show some deference to that when she's here?"

He nodded his head, understandingly, a smug smile appearing on his face. "Funny? I didn't know monitoring relationships was part of your job description. But for the record, I think my flirting has done her some good."

Robin had to hold back a scoff. "And how is that?"

"Self confidence," Killian steadily replied. "It might be hard for you to understand, you know given all your working limbs but for people like us, after what we've been through, feeling attractive is a little difficult. So I throw a well-deserved compliment or two her way. I don't consider that a crime. Besides, I think we both know if she was annoyed by my comments she'd be the first to tell me to shove it."

Robin glared at him but only grumbled in response. True, if Regina had a problem with it she would've snarled at his words but she'd only laughed and replied with a little blushing sarcasm or the occasional smile.

"By the way I did know she was a widow," added Hook. "We're not exactly silent during catch."

"Oh," mumbled Robin, a heat rising in his cheek.

"Don't worry," he chuckled. "I'm not aiming to be the new man in her life." He sent Robin a knowing look. "But if you're looking to lay a claim, you might want to move fast. A woman as beautiful as that... won't be a widow for long."

Before Robin could even comeback with a denial Killian had already sauntered away.


	17. Henry's First Word

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin hears Henry's first word.

Robin wasn't usually the sentimental type. After an entire childhood bouncing from foster home to foster home there were few things, and people, that he knew couldn't live without and only two cherished mementos that he made sure never to lose. One was an old matchbox car, it was a red Chevy truck and the last thing his mother had ever given him. The second was a photo of him and Daniel as kids. Growing up no one ever really took pictures of him. He imagined very few people thought of him as worth remembering but when they were around 12 one of his foster's mother's, a kind elderly lady, took one of him and Daniel. It was nothing special just them sitting on the porch steps in her backyard but it was the first photo of himself that he was allowed to keep. It became even more special when he realized that Daniel would be a permanent fixture in his life and the photo was the only evidence of their childhood together.    
  
It sat in a frame on his dresser in the guest room of Regina's house, the only thing he'd really done to make the space his own.    
  
One day he caught Henry idling by the dresser and reaching for the frame. Smiling, he lifted him up and showed him the photo with a wistful smile. "You see that? That's me and your dad when we were kids."    
  
Henry immediately, slapped his hand against his father's photographed face. "Da... Da!"    
  
Robin's heart skipped a beat at Henry's immediate recognition but he just smiled. "Yeah... that's Dad."    
  
Later on it would hit him that he was the only witness to Henry's first words but he figured he'd keep that to himself. He knew Regina wanted to be there and he'd be damned if he denied her that experience. One parent missing it was enough.


	18. Apartment Hunting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina convinced herself that she’s only allowing Robin to stay because he was Daniel’s foster brother but she then realises she actually wants Robin to stay and she genuinly wants his help.

She'd never given much thought to when Robin would leave. In the beginning she was counting the days until she was able to walk again and could finally have her home and her house to herself again but lately... her feelings had changed.    
  
When she first came home after Daniel died things had been so... silent. The stillness of their home was cold and stifling but when Robin and Roland warmth returned, little by little. The house seemed happier with her nephew's presence and so did her son for that matter. It was good for him to have someone close to his age in the house. And the same could be said for her.    
  
She loathed to admit it but having Robin around made her feel less lonely. It wasn't as if they were friends (she'd never say that, ever) but for the first time he felt like family. Maybe that's why she felt a spike of panic go through her when she saw him with an apartment brochure.    
  
"You looking for a new place?" she asked.    
  
Robin nodded. "Yeah, I figured I get on it. You're getting stronger everyday and if I'm gonna get a place nearby I'd better saving for the deposit now."    
  
"That's smart," she mumbled, turning away in her chair. Biting her lip, she turned back around. "You know... you don't have to look so hard."    
  
He raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't?"    
  
"No," she sighed. "The need to get you out of my house doesn't feel as urgent as it used to."    
  
He grinned at her. "Regina Mills, are you saying you'd miss me?"    
  
Despite the blush rising in her cheeks, she scoffed. "I'm saying I'd miss Roland. You, I could take or leave."    
  
Robin shook his head, as she wheeled away from him. "You're too kind."    
  
"Yeah, I'm a real saint," she mumbled.


	19. Marian's Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marian comes back to town.

It was later than usual when Robin finally left the therapy center that evening. He'd stay behind to help his boss double check some expense reports so the sun was down once he finally walked out the door. After that and a full day of work his neck ached and his patience was worn to the bone. So it was probably the worst possible moment for him to run into the last person he expected to see.

"Robin?"

He nearly dropped his keys when he heard her voice but then he turned around and there she was. Marian Calhoun. Love of his life. Mother of his child. The woman who abandoned him.

She tried to pull a smile on her face as she approached him from the side of the building. "Hi," she softly greeted.

He stared at her in utter shock. Save for a new haircut, she looked exactly the same. She had the same brown eyes and dark hair. She still wore the same old navy jeans and floral shrug. It was like nothing had changed for her... but everything had changed for him. He used to look at her and feel this delightful flutter in his heart, this disbelief that someone as amazing as her would be with him. But now he looked at her... and all he felt was anger. True, deep-seated animosity.

Letting out a deep breath, he tried to let go some of his rage. "What the hell are you doing here?"

She faltered, crossing her arms. "I... moved back to town. And I want to see Roland."

Robin just remained silent, glaring at her from his spot on the sidewalk. He knew that if he opened his mouth at that moment he'd end up saying words that he could never take back and that's not what he wanted. Right now, he just wanted to get away from her. Something easier said than done.

As he turned away, he heard Marian let out an desperate breath, the soles of her wedges clicking against the sidewalk as she rushed after him. "Robin... wait, please! I'm sorry!"

"You're sorry?!" He whirled around, his anger reignited by those two words. "That's what you have to say after all of this? Marian you have been gone a year! You disappeared on me! You disappeared on him!"

"I know that!" she said, her voice wavering. "And I missed him every day but I had to leave! I was dying there!"

"I don't care!" he shouted back. "I don't care about you Marian. I don't where you've been, I don't care where you're going. All I care about is my son. And I promise, it will be a cold day in hell before you ever see him again."

The hurt that flashes across her eyes is the last thing he sees before he gets in his car, tears out of the parking lot, white-knuckling the steering wheel as he goes.


	20. Marian's Return pt. 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roland tells Regina he loves her and Robin tells her that Marian is back.

Regina sighed contently as she checked on Henry as he lay in his crib. His pacifier was snug in his mouth and he was sound asleep. But the same could not be said for the little boy in her bed.

Robin had called to warn her that he would be in late and as usual Roland had opted to spend the night in her bed. He still wasn't comfortable sleeping on his own. Regina turned to him in her wheelchair, rolling closer to edge of the bed. "Okay, sweetheart," she lovingly drawled. "Are you ready for bedtime too?"

Roland shrugged his shoulders but nodded. His brow furrowed as he avoided her gaze and she grew concerned. "Roland? Are you okay?"

He sighed before looking up at her with inquisitive eyes. "Are daddy and I moving?"

She raised her eyebrows, surprised. "Not that I know of. Why would you ask that?"

"I heard daddy say he was looking for new houses," he mumbled.

"Oh." She shrugged her shoulders. "Well... would that be so bad? If you had a new house you'd have a new room and lots of space."

Roland thoughtfully tilted his head. "I'd miss you and Henry."

Regina nodded her head understandingly, touched by his words. "Well, we'd miss you too. But even if you moved we'd stay in your life."

"Really?"

"Of course," she insisted, tickling his stomach. "You're my nephew Roland. I'm never gonna let you go."

He smiled at her. "I love you Aunt Regina."

"I love you too baby," she said, pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Now it's time for Goodnight Moon."

After his favorite bedtime story, Roland was out like a light. Making sure to tuck him in tight, she quietly rolled out of his room being extra careful to close the door behind her. A decision that became moot when she heard the front door slam as loud as possible.

Rolling into the living she saw Robin storming into the kitchen and she glared at him. "Hey!" she hissed. "I just got the boys to sleep. You almost woke them."

"Sorry," grumbled Robin, not even glancing at her. He immediately zeroed in on the liquor cabinet and she pinched her eyebrows together, going on alert.

"What the hell's wrong with you?"

Tequila bottle in hand, Robin let out a seething breath before answering her. "Marian showed up at my job today. She wants to see Roland."

Regina's lips parted in shock. Marian was back? What does that mean?

She was pulled from her thoughts when she saw Robin opening the tequila. "Robin... don't."

He rolled his eyes, annoyed. "No offense, but I feel like I've more than earned a drink tonight."

"Yeah, but you don't want to drown your anger in ten-dollar tequila," she advised. "Not when there's eighty-dollar scotch in the house."

He looked at her, eyebrows raised in surprise but clearly intrigued. "Eighty-dollar?"

"Hidden behind the bran cereal in the top shelf of the pantry," she said, with a nod. Making her way to the kitchen table she added, "And pour two glasses while you're at it. I take mine neat."


	21. Marian's Return pt. 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin and Regina drink and talk about Marian's return.

Regina let out an offended squeak when saw Robin gulp down his first drink of the evening.   
  
"Hey," she hissed. "I'll remind you that this is a sipping scotch. As much as I paid for it we're not drinking it all in one night."   
  
Robin rolled his eyes, pouring himself another drink. "Fine, I'll make the next one last all hour."   
  
It was less than an hour after Marian's sudden return and the two of them sat at the kitchen table with an expensive bottle of scotch between them. Despite her indignation at his rapid consumption, he could see her watching him warily as he drank. It was the first time she'd ever seen him so off-kilter and emotional.   
  
He sarcastically raised a glass to her. "Thanks for hiding this from me by the way. That was nice."   
  
She glared at him. "I wasn't hiding it. I was saving it," she elaborated. Her eyes grew solemn. "Daniel and I were supposed to drink it for our tenth anniversary."   
  
"Oh," he mumbled, setting his glass down, suddenly feeling like he had no right to savor its oak-y taste.   
  
"Yeah," she sighed. "Then the accident happened and I was saving it for when I could finally stand and reach the top shelf myself but now's a good a time as any to suck it down."   
  
"Sorry," apologized Robin.   
  
Regina just shook her head. "Oh no, we are not here for my tragic backstory. Today we're dealing with yours." She took a sip of her scotch. "So... how'd she look?"   
  
Robin's grip on his glass tightened. "She looked... fine, I guess."   
  
She looked better than fine, actually. The image of Marian standing in front of him had been stuck in his head all night and she just looked... good. Healthy. Better than she had when he last saw her. It made his blood boil. How is it that she abandons him and his son and comes back looking completely polished and unscathed? How is that possible?   
  
"Did you talk to her at all?" asked Regina. "Find out where she's been?"   
  
"I hardly said anything to her," Robin replied, shaking his head. "I just told her she couldn't see Roland and that was it."   
  
Regina studied him before taking another sip of her scotch. "So... are you gonna see her again?"   
  
"Not if I can help it," he said.   
  
"Aren't you the least bit curious," she asked, incredulously. "She's been gone for almost a year and then she shows up out of the blue like this. Where has she been staying? What the hell has she been doing?"   
  
"I don't care," Robin bluntly replied. He shrugged and shook his head. "You know in the beginning I was driving myself crazy wondering about where the hell she was and if she was ok but now that she's here... I don't care anymore. I really don't."   
  
Regina nodded. "And what about Roland?"   
  
He hesitated to answer. He knew that Roland missed his mother but how could he trust her to ever be a part of his life again after what she'd done? It's taken so long for him to stop asking and crying for her. God forbid, she sees him and disappears again. He'd never get over it.   
  
"Roland has me," he said, as convincingly as possible. "That's enough." 

"Of course it is," whispered Regina. "He'll be fine, no matter what."

Though he nods his head, Robin only wishes that he believes that as much as she did.


	22. Marian's Return pt 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @queenxoutlaw asked for Regina being jealous of Marian.

It had been two days since Marian's sudden reappearance and from the outside things at home went on just as they usually did. Regina worked on her physical therapy with Robin, the boys were adorable as obvious and no one's routine was affected in at all. However, if you were to take a closer link you could tell just how off kilter things were. Particularly with Robin.

Regina noticed that he had all but lost his sense of humor, no longer deflecting and replying to her sarcasm. Most of the day he seemed pensive, withdrawn and irritable but she didn't blame him. Marian's return had knocked him off balance, and he wasn't the only one feeling that way. Though she didn't dare to even say the woman's name, she thought of Marian a lot. The image of her popped into Regina's head every time she looked at Roland's face. It'd been months since he'd last asked for her but knowing that Marian was thinking about him concerned her. What if she showed up unexpectedly? Or even fought for custody? She'd disappeared for a year but she was still his mother. Some sap of a judge might take pity on her. What if Robin lost Roland? He'd already lost so much this past year, losing his son would destroy him.

It was thoughts like this that she tried to silence this afternoon. Robin had taken the boys to library for a puppet show while she'd opted for some alone time to get caught up on work. She'd hoped focusing on a few legal briefs would help clear her head but not ten minutes after they left the doorbell rang. She couldn't even hide the shock on her face when she saw Marian standing on her doorstep.

She towered above her, anxiously shifting in her wedges. "Hi... can we talk?"

A surprising strong part of her wanted to spit in her face but it was no match for the polite civility her mother had bred into her bones. A minute later Marian sat on the couch across from her, wringing her hands and doing her best not to stare at Regina's chair.

Regina studied her, carefully. She didn't appear to be strung out or unhealthy. In fact, she looked good. Her clothes were clean and stylish, she had a new haircut and he skin was still all but flawless. It irked her. "Why are you here Marian?"

"Because I want to see my son... and Robin won't let me," she said.

"And you thought a sneak attack was your best bet?" questioned Regina.

She shook her head. "No... I thought you were."

Regina raised her eyebrows, surprised. "Me?"

"I know he's been living with you ever since Daniel died," said Marian. "And I can tell that he... trusts you. More than he trusts me."

"Gosh, I wonder why that is," she sarcastically mumbled.

Marian ignored her, gritting her teeth. "Look, I know I screwed up but Roland still means the world to me. And the only way I am ever going to see him is with your help. I just need you to talk to Robin and convince him to let me see our son."

Regina bit down on her lip, resisting the urge to scoff. "Why on Earth would I do that?"

"Because I'm his mother."

"And what does that matter?" spat Regina, growing irritated. "It didn't matter when you left. It didn't matter when you never called. Why should it matter now?"

"Because... it just does," Marian weakly argued.

Regina took a deep breath, shaking her head. "You know Marian... I remember the first time I saw you with Roland. He was one month old and Daniel and I had come to visit to see him. I thought it was a bad idea to go actually. Daniel and I were having a disagreement. You see, I wanted a child and he wanted more time. More time to build his career, more time for just the two of us. He was just...reluctant. And it killed me. So the thought of visiting to see a the two of you and your precious bundle of joy, seemed like a recipe for disaster."

She remembered that weekend like it was yesterday. She and Daniel didn't say a word to each other the whole drive there, just tense silence muted by the sound of the car radio.

"I remember walking in and seeing you with that perfect baby boy in your arms and a loving partner by your side and I have never been so jealous of another person in my entire life," she recalled. "It struck me like lightning. You were living the life that I wanted and you took it completely for granted."

Marian narrowed her eyes at her. "Is that what you think? I took it for granted?"

"Yes," Regina bluntly replied. "It's the only reason I can think of as to why you'd choose to walk away from a man who loved you more than anything and a son who still needed you."

"And you think I did that easily?" Marian questioned, anger brewing in her tone. "Do you think I packed my bags with a smile, and merrily skipped to my car as I left behind the love of my life and our son? Is that what you think?"

Regina stayed silent, merely lifting an eyebrow.

"I fought," Marian hissed. "I fought so hard to be happy in that house, to want what I had because I knew what I had was beautiful. But it didn't stop me from feeling like I was sinking into quicksand every single day. I was drowning, Regina. When I told him I was unhappy I didn't mean that I was some unsatisfied housewife. I meant that I was fighting everyday not slit my wrists or down the drain cleaner. I didn't leave because it was easy. I left because I couldn't breathe."

Regina faltered at the emotion in her voice. She could the pain radiating from her eyes and knew that her words held no exaggeration. She tried not to show how much Marian's explanation affected.

"Fine," she said. "If that's true, if you were so miserable then why even come back here?"

"The same reason I stayed for so long," she said. "Because son needed me to." She paused, letting out a deep breath. "I know how much Robin's mother hurt him by disappearing and I don't want to do that to Roland, not permanently. I just want to see him and say I'm sorry and that I still love him and never stopped thinking about him. I need him to know that he still matters, and always will. He's not gonna believe it from anyone else."

Marian's voice wavered with emotion as she spoke of all the things she wanted to say to her son. "Regina please... you have to understand, you're a mother."

Regina sighed. It's true that as a mother she felt for Marian's plight and she agreed that it would be good for Roland to hear these words from his mother's mouth. If he didn't he might grow up feeling rejected by her and by others, never knowing that he wasn't the problem. However, Roland was only her nephew. It wasn't her place to determine what was best for him or what he needed. That was Robin's job.

"You should go," she solemnly said. "The boys will be back any minute. I don't want them to see you here."

A soft, disappointed breath fell from Marian's lips as she bowed her head. "Fine... but I am not done. I'm not giving up until I see my son."


	23. Marian's Return pt. 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina and Robin have an argument about Marian's return.

For the rest of the day Regina grappled with when to tell Robin about Marian's visit. He returned home with the boys less than an hour after she left and looking him in the eye while keeping that secret twisted Regina's gut. He seemed to be in a better mood. Spending time with the boys always had that effect on him. He came back from the library smiling and noticeably less tense. She hated the idea of spoiling that but this wasn't exactly something she could sit on. After the boys were put to bed she called out to him. "Robin... we need to talk."

Like every man before him, he knew those four words were never followed by anything good.

She bit her lip as he sat across from her at the kitchen table. There was no way he'd react well to what she would say and she braced herself for what would come next. "Marian came to see me today."

She sees his eyes widen almost imperceptibly in shock before he set his jaw and let out a withering breath. "When?"

"After you went to the library," she softly revealed. Sighing, she continued, "She wanted me to convince you to let her see Roland."

Robin scoffed. "Unbelievable."

He stood from the table, tension visibly returning to his body as he started to pace the kitchen floor. Regina watched him, nervously. "We talked for a bit," she said. "She seems... remorseful."

Stopping in his tracks, a flash anger went across Robin's eyes as he looked at her. "Remorseful?" he hissed.

She nodded, undeterred by his reaction. "Yes... and dead-set on seeing Roland again."

"It's not gonna happen," he immediately snaps.

"Robin it might not be up to you," she warns. "She is still his mother. She still has rights. If she decides to sue you for custody..."

"She wouldn't dare!"

"You don't know that," she reminds him, softly shaking her head.

Robin studies her, defensively crossing his arms. "What are you trying to say?"

She pauses, pressing her lips together, knowing that her next words won't go over well. "I'm saying... that maybe it would be best if you let her see him."

"No." His refusal comes out as stiff and unmoving as a brick wall.

"Robin..."

"No!" he repeats, raising his voice. "She left us. In the middle of the day, without warning, without explanation. She doesn't get to just take that back!"

"Nobody said that she should," argued Regina. "But maybe you should give her a chance to explain herself, for Roland's sake."

"For Roland's sake?" he shot back, incredulously. "Everything I do is for Roland's sake! I think of him every minute of every day. Where he is, what he needs. I'm the one who has spent the last nine months finding new answers for 'where is mommy' and 'when is she coming home' and 'why can't I see her.' Answers that she never bothered to give me. So as far as I'm concerned I am the only person in this world who gets to decide what is best for Roland's sake."

Regina's skin grew hot at his forceful assertion. "So keeping Roland away from his mother, from the one person who might actually be able to give him the answers he needs is what's best? He's just never supposed to see her again?"

"Why are you trying so hard to make me the bad guy in this?" he angrily questions. "It's like you're determined to be on her side!" 

"I am not on her side!" snapped Regina. "I am on Roland's side! The only person I am thinking of right now is that sweet little boy who I tuck into bed almost every night and that is more than I can say for you."

"And what the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that if you were honest with yourself you'd admit that this brick wall you seem so set on putting between isn't about protecting Roland. It's about punishing Marian and you know it!"

"That is bullshit," he growled, walking away from her. Regina hurried after him in her chair.

"Robin you are so angry at her for leaving you can't accept that her coming back might be a good thing! That maybe explaining to him why she left for a year is better for him than growing up wondering why his mother never came back for him."

"Back off Regina!" he yelled, so forcefully she reared her head back. "This is none of your business! He is my son, not yours! I will decide what's best! Not you!"

Regina glared at him as he headed for the stairs. "Hey get back here! I am not done!"

"Well I am," he tossed over his shoulder, still heading up the stairs. "And the way I see it as long as I'm up here and you're down there, there's nothing you can do to change that."

Hearing him slam the door to his room, Regina angrily gripped the arms of her wheelchair. _That immature son of bitch_. If he thinks that's the end of this he is sorely mistaken. Gritting her teeth she positioned her chair next to the staircase and, gripping tight onto the railing, transferred herself to bottom stair. Maybe if she was more daring she'd try to walk up but she figured her arms were a better bet than her legs at the moment. Dragging herself of the stairs in reverse, she thanked god for her newfound upper-arm strength. She'd made it three-quarters of the way there when she heard steps at the top of the staircase.

"What the hell are you doing?"

She turned to glare at Robin, as he stood at the top of the staircases. "What does it look like?"

He stared at her, opened-mouthed. "Are you seriously dragging yourself up the stair just so you can get the last word in? Are you fucking kidding me right now? Why can't you just let this go?!"

"Because I am a stubborn bitch with amazing arm strength," she spat. "One who cares about your son more than it appears you've seemed to notice."

Her voice wavered on her last few words, quelling Robin's anger to the point where he was at least inclined to help her off the stairs.

"This is ridiculous," he grumbled, walking down the steps. "Let me help you!"

"No!" snapped Regina, leaning away from his hands and gripping onto the railing. "You don't get to touch me until I finish what I have to say!"

"Jesus fucking christ," he muttered under his breath. "Fine! Finish!"

She glowered at him but took a deep breath and started to speak. "I get why you're pissed," she said. "What Marian did was selfish and hurtful and you have every right not to forgive her... but if she wants to rebuild her relationship with Roland, you have to be open to it because if you aren't... then he might never forgive you for it."

Robin, clearly affected by her words, shook his head. "I'm trying to protect him."

"That won't matter," she softly argued. "Robin, right now all he knows is that his mom isn't here. If he ever finds out that she wanted to see him and you wouldn't let her, he's not gonna see you as a protector. You'll just be the person who kept him from his mother."

Robin remained silent, letting her words sink in.

"You know he misses her," she whispered.

"Of course I know that," he replied. "No one knows better than me just how much he misses her." He paused, sighing. "Can I please help you into your chair now?"

"Fine," she mumbled.

Wrapping her arm around his shoulders, she allowed herself to be lifted into his arms. As he carried her bridal style down the stairs she took note of his face. He was silent but she could see the gears working in his head and was certain that she had at least started to get through to him.

Setting her back into her chair, Robin asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she replied. Now that the moment had passed she found herself a little embarrassed by her earlier outburst.

For a moment, neither of them moved. They just avoided each other's gazes as the weight of the past few minutes washed over them. It was the first time they had ever truly fought.

Finally Robin spoke.

"I would love for my son to have his mother back," he said, softly. "But after what's she's done I don't trust her not to hurt him anymore."

Regina nodded. "I know... but you have to try to." An apprehensive look passed over Robin's face and she reached for his arm. "She is still his mother... you have to give her a chance."

Robin let out a reluctant breath but nodded. "Fine. I will meet with her, once."


	24. Marian's Terms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marian and Robin meet up to talk about Roland.

He met Marian at a coffee shop down the street from her new apartment. It was nice. Exposed brick walls, tables set for two all throughout and hanging planters on the patio. Robin knew it was exactly the type of place she'd frequent and he resented that the minute he realized that. 

It'd been a week since she'd shown up at his work. After a few days his anger had quelled but only slightly. He tried not to be angry at her but it was difficult. Every time he looked at Roland's face, he just remembered that she'd abandoned him and his feelings spiked once more. Regina was constantly reminding him that Marian was still his son's mother, that there had been a time where she'd done everything for him and having her in Roland's life was in his best interest. Those reminders were the only reason he was in this hippie coffee shop sitting across from the woman who'd broken his heart.

Staring at her, he tried to keep the scowl off his face. After three minutes of sitting in silence he finally spoke. "Where did you go?" 

Hesitantly tapping her nail, against the table she let out a soft breath. "I went to a motel for the first week... and then I went to stay with Merl at the beach house." 

Robin couldn't stop the scoff that escaped him at her confession. He'd called her brother at least five times that first month. Every time he'd said that he hadn't heard from her. "What'd you do there?" 

"Cry mostly," she softly admitted. "Didn't get out of bed for a while. After the first two weeks, Merl finally dragged me to the doctor's office. I spent a lot of time in therapy, got a waitressing job in town and... I started painting again." 

"I'm so happy for you," he bitterly replied. 

She sighed, averting her gaze sideways. "Robin... please don't be difficult." 

"Sarcasm isn't difficult Marian. Disappearing for a year is," he shot back. 

Sinking into herself, Marian remained silent, knowing she didn't have a leg to stand on in that argument. 

Seeing her properly chastised, Robin sighed. "Why are you back Marian? To see Roland? To get him back?" 

"No! I mean... yes, kind of," she stammered. She paused, dropping her head and running her fingers through her hair. Getting a grip, she forced herself to look in Robin's eyes. "Look, I spent a lot of time in therapy trying to figure out why I was so unhappy and how to put myself back together." She paused. "I can't go back to how things were. I can't... be his mother all the time. I'm not... I'm not strong enough to be there for him like that. I'm just... not." 

Her eyes grew watery as she desperately shook her head. "But I don't want to leave him. I don't want him to think I don't love him. Or that I don't care." 

Robin's fingers dug into his biceps, as he listened to her flounder explaining her feelings about their son. He let out a harsh breath. "Then what do you want Marian?" 

She pressed her lips together, nervous. "I want for you to have full custody of Roland. And I want monthly visitation." 

It took everything in him not to get up and leave. Shaking his head, he glared at her. "So what? You vanish on him for months and now you come back to what? Be a part-time parent? See him once a month while I do everything else?" 

"I know it's not fair," she admitted, dropping her gaze. "But it's the best I can do, Robin." She paused, straightening her back. "I was never built to a mother. I told you that the day I met you." 

Robin narrowed his eyes at her in disbelief. "Really? You're gonna pull that card on me now?" 

"It's not a card Robin. It's a fact," she said. "I never wanted kids. I told you I couldn't do it from the beginning. I never lied to you about that, not once." 

It was true. They'd barely finished their second date when she'd revealed that she didn't want children of her own. At the time it wasn't a deal breaker for him but when she'd gotten pregnant they'd agreed to go through with it, to be a family. She'd agreed. 

Robin clenched his jaw. "If you felt so strongly about that why did you even have him in the first place?" 

"Because I loved you... and I knew you'd never forgive me if I didn't." 

Her voice wavered as she spoke but the certainty in them shook Robin to his core. "That's... a hideous thing to say, Marian." 

"But it's not wrong... is it?" 

His skin prickling with anger Robin remained silent. Deep down he knew there was no honest answer that he would be proud of. He abruptly stood up. "I have to go. My son expects me home." 

He saw her flinch at the use of "my son" but couldn't find it in him to care. She reached out to grip his arm before he walked away. "I get to say goodbye." 

His eyes rose in surprise when he heard the desperation in her voice. 

"If you are gonna cut me out of Roland's life for good, then I get to say goodbye to him," she demanded. 

Robin removed his arm from her grip. "I have to go," he calmly replied. 

He left the coffee house in a rush, only to sit in his car for the next five minutes, hands on the steering wheel, staring into space. He thought she'd fight. Ask for a second chance, or a shot at redeeming herself. If not for him, then at least for Roland. Instead... she'd given up. She'd let go. He'd seen the look in her eyes and knew there was no chance of her coming back to them. 

No matter what he decided he'd never have his family back.


	25. A Lap Around the Park

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Robin returns from Marian and talks with Regina about what happened?

Regina never thought she'd miss the wheelchair. She was wrong. She'd take that cushy leather seat and two wheels over this walker any day. 

After months of work, she'd progressed enough to stand on her own without support but walking was still a struggle. It would probably weeks before she was completely able to do it on her own. So until then she was stuck with this hideous stainless steel walker that made her look and feel like a senior citizen. 

 _Might as well be rolling an oxygen tank by my side,_ she thought to herself, trying not to let everyone's stares get to her. 

She and Robin had taken the boys to the park that afternoon to get some fresh air. Henry and Roland were playing in the sandbox, trying to build a castle while she completed laps around the sidewalk, trying to get her steps in for the day. Robin was walking patiently beside her, matching her slow, stilted steps without complaint, ready to help at any moment. She watched him out of the corner of her eye, worried. 

He'd had his meeting with Marian the day before and had been close-lipped about the whole thing. She didn't want to push him but she was desperate to know how it'd gone and what it meant for Roland's future. 

"You're awfully quiet today," she remarked. 

"And you're faster than week," he easily deflected. "Maybe all the chatter was distracting you." 

She smirked. "As if I listen to a word you say." She paused for a short moment, catching her breath. "Seriously though... how are you?" 

He hesitated before answering. "I'm... fine." 

Everything about his tone suggested the opposite but Regina treaded lightly. "Fine as in... everything's okay with the Marian situation?" 

She saw him clench his jaw, sucking in a deep breath. "Nothing's okay with the Marian situation." 

Forcing herself to keep her eyes straight ahead, she asked, "What happened?" 

Finally, he revealed everything that had happened at the coffee shop the day before. How brief the whole thing had been, yet how affecting. She only spoke again when he told her what Marian had asked for. 

"Monthly visitation?" she asked, her surprise evident. "That's all she wants?" 

"Yep," Robin bitterly replied, nodding her head. "She ran away from us and has now decided that she wants to be a weekend mom." 

Regina exhaled, softly. "That sounds..." 

"Selfish," Robin quickly supplied. 

Regina bit her lip. "I was actually gonna say... fair." She pauses, noticing that's he's angrily gaping. "It sounds fair, Robin." 

"How is it fair?" he hissed. "After all that she's done, how is this fair to me? Or to Roland?" He gestures toward his son, who's sitting in the sandbox with his cousin, oblivious to adult's conversation. "How is it fair that he only gets a part-time mother?" 

Regina tilts her head, sympathetic. "Isn't a part-time mom better than no mom at all?" 

He bristles at her logic, then stubbornly rolls his eyes. Still, Regina argues her perspective. 

"Honestly, Robin if she'd asked for more would you'd even given to her?" she questions, dubious. "After the way she walked out I highly doubt you'd be okay with joint custody." 

"That's not what I'm saying," he said, stressfully running his hands over his face. "I'm just saying... that it's not fair. It's not what I wanted." 

"What did you want?" 

He sighed, helplessly shaking his head. "I just wanted... I don't even know." 

Regina paused, catching her breath and looking up at him with understanding eyes. "You wanted her to fight for him. You wanted her to beg you to let her back in your lives. You wanted her to want to be there." She sadly shrugged her shoulders. "She doesn't. You can't change that. You know you can't and it hurts because after all she's done, you wanted to be the one to shut the door on her and it kills you that you're not." 

Robin stares at her, silently hating and loving that she somehow managed to cut right to core of his conflict even when she couldn't. 

"It's extremely petty," she chides. "But also very human." 

Without another word, she continues on her lap, spying a nearby bench and deciding to take a break. Robin joins her on the bench, with her words still rattling in his brain. For a few minutes they sit together in silence watching their sons play in the sand. Robin takes in the image of Roland - all innocent smiles, pushing sand into place, trying to keep his blue sunhat out of his eyes - and shakes his head. 

"I just don't see how she can't love him as much as I do," he whispers. 

Regina sighs. "Maybe it's not that she doesn't love him as much but just that she has to show it in a different way," she suggests. Pausing, she turns to face him. "Did you know Daniel and I met with fifteen different birth mothers before we met Henry's?" 

He lifted his eyebrows in surprise. 15? He thought it was no more than five. Apparently his brother hadn't told him everything. 

"So many young girls," Regina reflected. "And not one of them seemed happy or even pleased to be there, in their situation. Instead they seemed... resolved or... defeated even. I was so caught up in how much it meant to me to get a baby and become a mother that I never really took the time to consider what it meant for the woman on the other side of that equation. I realized just how difficult it must be for them to think of their children and say... 'maybe I'm not the best thing for them?' And how heartbreaking it must be to decide that you actually aren't." 

She pressed her lips together. "It can't be an easy thing to admit. A lot of mothers can't say it even when it's true. My mother certainly couldn't." She paused, dropping her gaze to the ground. "I certainly couldn't." 

Robin tilted his head. "You are what's best for Henry," he softly insisted. 

"Today," she sadly countered. "Today I am good and grounded but those first few weeks after the accident... I was a mess. I could barely take care of me, let alone Henry. I was making it work but... it was like walking on a rope of glass. Everything could've easily fallen apart and in the moment I would've never admitted it."

She took a deep breath, pushing down the emotions that were threatening to overflow. "Look I talked to Marian and so did you. Did it look like any of this was easy for her?"

 Robin thought back to the times he'd seen Marian, the desperation and sadness in her eyes. _No_ , he silently admitted, _it hadn't been easy for her_. But that didn't make things easier on him. 

"You think I should let her see Roland?" he asked. 

"I think you should let her have a place in his life," she said. "Even if it's not the center." 

He remained his silent, still looking out at his son, wondering if he could trust his mother not to screw up again. Regina gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "She didn't leave him on the church steps Robin. She left him with you." 

And just like that his mind was made up. 


	26. Playing Catch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina realizes she might be attracted to Robin.

"So he's letting her see the little hobbit?"

Regina rolled her eyes and nodded, tossing the ball back in Killian's direction.

After their talk in the park Robin had decided to let Marian see Roland, at least for the day. She would never say so but she was proud of him for pushing aside his own feelings and making a mature decision for Roland's sake. Even so, she still felt nervous about the whole thing. He and Roland were meeting Marian today and it was all she could think about. She'd even offered to come along but Robin said whatever happened today needed to happen with only him, Marian and Roland. No outside parties, at least not yet. She tried not to fret over it but it was all she could think about. Only one hour after they'd walked out the door, she'd called a sitter for Henry and a cab for herself. She needed to clear her head, get her mind off things or talk them over with a friend. Fortunately, there was one available.

Killian Jones was an interesting man. Though she'd only known him for a few months, Regina could tell she'd met up with a kindred spirit. He was bold, brash and a flirt. Normally, his type would annoy her to no end but she found his attitude welcome in the physical therapy center. A lot of the people there were caught up in feeling sorry for themselves - herself included - but not Killian. It was only three months since the boating accident that had cost him his right hand but he was always smirking, flirting and quick to offer a laugh and a wink. When she'd called earlier he'd asked if she wanted to join him at the center for a game of catch she'd quickly agreed. Within minutes, their conversation turned toward things at home.

"Robin's taking Roland to a park in their old neighborhood and Marian's going to meet them there." With a pensive sigh she caught the ball as he tossed it back to her.

Killian raised an eyebrow at her. "You don't seem too excited about that, love." 

She narrowed her eyes at his use of "love" but let it slide for the moment. "I'm nervous," she admitted. "I mean I pushed him to let her see Roland. He'll probably blame me if she screws up again."

She tossed the ball back, Killian catching it with surprising deftness. "Are you sure her screwing up is what you're worried about?"

A smirk appeared on Regina's face as she caught the ball again, knowing exactly where he was headed. "What are you implying, Mr. Jones?"

He shrugged. "It's been, what? Nearly nine months since Robin has moved in with you. I bet you've grown comfortable, formed a routine, built up reasonable expectations in your head..."

"Turtles could get to the point faster than you," she mumbled, tossing the ball back.

"I'm just saying maybe what you fear isn't her screwing up with Roland but her reconciling with Robin." Killian suggestively lifted an eyebrow, turning the ball over in his hand. "Have you even thought on what it could mean if the two of them got back together?" 

"Robin's not getting back with her," she said, pushing as much certainty in her tone as possible. "She left him and his son, he'll never let that go."

Killian tossed the ball back to her. "And if he does?"

Regina faltered. Truthfully, that scenario had been on the edge of her mind for days now. What if they did get back together? What if the two of them left her and Henry? The idea of it going back to just the two of them seemed... rather lonely.

She shook her head. "It's a non-issue. And I'm not worried."

She tossed the ball back to him with a little more force than necessary. He floundered but caught it in his hand. "You know I once read when that when someone loses a spouse, it's likely that they'll seek _comfort_ in the arms of someone close to that spouse, like a best friend... or a sibling. Matched grief and all that."

Regina pressed her lips together, put off by the direction he'd steered their conversation in. "What are you trying to say?"

"I'm trying to say... than no one would blame you," he cautiously elaborated. "If you had some type of feelings for Robin..."

"Ha!" She cut off his sentence, with a sharp laugh. "Feelings for Robin? Are you joking?"

Killian laughed at her, speedy denial. "It's not outside of the realm of possibility. He's swooped into your life like some sort of white knight. He might as well have a horse between his legs and a shield on his arm."

Regina giggled at the mental image of Robin on a horse, coming to her rescue. "Cute," she laughed. "But not accurate. Robin isn't sticking around for me. He's doing it for Daniel and Henry." She shrugged. "I'm just the extra body in the lifeboat."

"That is not true and you know it," replied Killian, sympathetic. "He cares about you.... deeply."

A smile tugged her lips at his verbal affirmation. "Maybe so but that doesn't mean I have feelings for him."

He tossed the ball back to her. "Fine, I can accept that but you at least have to be attracted to the guy. You've lived with him for months now. Wasn't there at least one moment when you caught him coming out of the shower, nothing but a towel and glistening skin and thought... 'well that looks quite nice.'"

Regina rolled her eyes at his ludicrous statement and tossed the ball back over to him. Somehow in all their months of cohabitation she hadn't caught even a glimpse of him shirtless, let alone nude. However, there had been a moment, a few weeks prior, where he was doing yard work. Weeds had overtaken her garden and he'd decided to pull them up for her. He'd been sweaty, wearing a sleeveless tank showing off his biceps, his hands growing dirty from the mud. And for a brief moment she'd thought... wow.

But she didn't have to tell Killian that.

"No I have never caught him coming out of the shower," she answered, rolling her eyes. "And even if I did, well... I'm not really into scruff."

"Shame," mumbled Killian, with a smirk. "I am."

He tossed the ball back in her direction and she chuckled. "Maybe you should ask him out then."

Killian shook his head. "Nah, I doubt he'd say yes. He's too busy playing bodyguard to you."

"You're never gonna let that warning go are you?" she said, eluding to stern talking to Robin had given him about his flirting when he'd first arrived.

"No, I don't hold it against him," said Killian. "It was a simple case of misplaced jealously." He looked her up and down. "You're not exactly my type."

Regina raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh really? And what is?"

He shrugged, tossing the ball back to her. "When it comes to women, I'm more into sporty blondes."

She nodded her head appreciatively. "Interesting... so am I."

 


	27. The Rain Cloud

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Robin and Marian explain to Roland why she left and what that means for the future.

"Is Mama really gonna be here today?"

Robin swallowed hard as he knelt down to re-tie Roland's left shoe. It was the fourth time his son had asked about his mother since he'd told him they would meeting up with her the day before. Normally, Roland would be energetic and full of questions but ever since Robin had brought up his mother he'd been quiet, thoughtful. Every once in awhile he'd ask a timid question about her. No matter what his father answered, his reaction was always the same. A solemn nod followed by silence. It didn't take Robin long to realize that he was trying not to get his hopes up. Roland wasn't sure that she would show up that day. Honestly, neither was he.

They were on a bench in the park by their old apartment. He had endured an extended argument through text with Marian about where they would meet up for today. They both knew it would be a bad day for their son but they had different ideas on how to minimize that pain. In the end they agreed it was best not to go above and beyond in terms of location. No zoos, or special restaurants. They didn't want him to associate those places with this day. Instead, they decided to meet up at this park, the one two blocks from the apartment that had once been their family home. Robin certainly wasn't moving back there and Marian had gotten a place in the arts district. The chances of Roland ever coming back were slim. It almost felt poetic. A day to say goodbye to their old life.

Finishing up with the shoe, Robin sat on the bench, comfortingly wrapping his arm around Roland's shoulders. "She will be here, son. I promise."

 _She better be,_ he silently added. If she blew off today he would never forgive her.

As if on cue, he saw her out of the corner of his eye. She was in a beige leather jacket and a silk, floral sundress with knee high boots. She nervously wrung her hands as she turned the corner and saw them waiting for her. "Roland?"

Roland's eyes widened at the sound of her voice. A wide, excited grin split across his face when he saw her there. "Mama!"

For all his earlier doubt, he quickly abandoned his spot on the bench to run toward his mother. Dropping to her knees, Marian held her arms open to hug him. Tears were in her eyes as she finally held him for the first time in nine months. "Oh baby... I missed you."

Robin wishes the sight of them together didn't feel him with dread. He wished he could feel some joy or relief that his son was finally seeing his mother again but all he felt was apprehension. A deep-seated fear that this could all go wrong and Roland would end up. Watching Marian gush over how much he'd grown since she'd been gone, Robin silently reminded himself of the words Regina had told him before they left.

_A part-time mom is better than no mom at all._

They took him over to the swing set. It had always been Roland's favorite thing to do at the park. Having his parents push him back and forth, feeling the wind go through his hair as he swung higher and higher. Robin couldn't fault him for loving it. When he was a boy, he'd loved the swings, too. Standing off to the side he let Marian push Roland as he chattered away letting her know about all she'd missed. Regina, Henry, his days at preschool and afternoons at the center. For her part, Marian remained engaged the whole time asking questions, showing curiosity and excitement at all of his tales.

"Henry's just a baby," said Roland. "But he's cute and I taught him how to walk and Aunt Regina says she trusts me with him more than anyone else."

"I bet she does," raved Marian, with a smile. She gave him a gentle push on the swing. "Henry is so lucky to have a big cousin like you. You're the best one in the whole world."

Roland giggled and Robin allowed himself a small smile. If there was one thing he'd never forget about being with Marian, it was that she always had a way of making you feel like more special than anyone else. When she was around, that is.

"Do you like it? Living at your Aunt Regina's house?" she asked.

"Yeah," Roland happily replied. "She's really nice and she makes me chocolate chip cookies and reads me Goodnight Moon."

It happened in less than a second, so swift and slight that no one else would've noticed beside him but Robin saw Marian flinch. She used to read Goodnight Moon to Roland every night and when she realized that someone else was doing it now... she flinched.

Immediately recovering, Marian forced a sad smile to her face. "That's good. I'm glad she reads to you."

"Mama where did you go?"

The question comes so innocently and abruptly is causes both Robin and Marian to freeze. Roland slowly swings to a stop, not standing but placing his feet on the ground, making it clear how much he needs this question answered.

Marian lets out a nervous breath. "Roland I..."

She trails off, unable to finish, turning to Robin with a helpless look in her eye. It surprises him how much he feels for her in this moment. Answering this question won't be easy for her but he simply grimaces and nods at her to continue. He will step in if things get too bad but this is something that she needs to answer for Roland on her own.

Sighing, she moves to face their son, crouching by his side and pulling a tight smile onto her face. "Baby listen...I am sorry I left. I know that must've been scary and confusing for you, not having me around." She runs her fingers through his hair. "I didn't want to leave you, Roland. I had to."

"Why?"

She presses her lips together. "Well... the truth is... your mama has a rain cloud."

Roland knits his eyebrows together, confused. "A rain cloud?"

"Mm-hmm." Marian nods and Robin can see that she's trying her best to hold it together. "I first got my rain cloud when I was a little bit older than you. I didn't - I don't like it. You see my rain cloud is dark and grey and it pours cold, heavy water on me. Just on me. When it comes around I get all wet and sick." She swallowed, hard.  "When I was younger I ran away from it and I thought that it was gone for good but I was wrong."

"It came back?" Roland softly asked.

Marian nodded. "Yes, my rain cloud came back. It rained on me really, really hard and I couldn't get rid of it."

"Why don't you just use an umbrella?"

She softly chuckled, shaking her head. "I tried but umbrellas aren't much help with a rain cloud like mine. It's much stronger than regular clouds."

Roland thoughtfully tilted his head, trying to understand everything his mother said. He turned to Robin, curious. "Do you have a rain cloud,Daddy?"

Robin sadly shook his head. "No Roland, I don't have a rain cloud."

"A lot of people don't," Marian chimed in. "Only a few people have rain clouds like mine. That's what makes it so hard to get rid of."

Roland paused. "So that's where you went? To get rid of it?"

Marian nodded. "Being near my rain cloud is very dangerous. And I didn't want you to get hurt while it was following me." She reached for his hand. "Baby you are the most important thing in the world to me. And I would never forgive myself if you got rained on by my cloud."

Looking up at the sky, Roland asked, "Is the rain cloud gone now?"

"Yes," answered Marian. "For now the rain cloud is gone."

"Does that mean you're coming home with us?"

He knew the question was coming, there was no way it wouldn't but hearing it still stabs at Robin's heart. Mostly because he knows what the answer will be.

Marian looks over at him with sad eyes and he figures that she's done her part for the moment. It's his turn. Sitting on the swing next to him, he gently places his hand on Roland's shoulder. "Well, it's a little more complicated than that, sweetheart."

"What do you mean?"

He swallows, nervous. "For now it means that you and I are gonna stay with Aunt Regina and Henry and Mama's gonna live on her own, really close by."

Marian, fervently nods. "That's right. I am gonna be so close and I promise you I will never disappear again.You will always know where I am."

Roland's chest heaves, as his cheeks start to turn bright red. "I don't understand," he says in a wobbly voice. He looks at his mother with tearful eyes. "Why can't you come home with me?"

Letting out a shaky breath, she cups his cheeks. "Oh baby, don't cry please." She presses her lips. "I wish you could stay with me but... right now I can't take care of you. My rain cloud could sneak up on me and when it does I need you to be with Daddy because Daddy is safe and he can protect you." She sends Robin, a pained smile. "Daddy is nothing but blue skies. He is gonna take such good care of you."

Roland sniffed, his brown eyes turning angry. "No! That's not fair!"

Wiping angry tears from his eyes, he took off for the jungle gym, ignoring both his parents as they called after him. Marian went to go after him but Robin found himself holding her back.

"He's angry. Let's just...let him have a minute," he reluctantly advised.

Marian hesitated but nodded. Her breath came out heavy and fast as she anxiously swayed from side to side, trying not to cry. Running her hands over her hand. "Oh...oh I shouldn't have done this. I shouldn't have come back here... I'm just hurting him, I'm hurting you, I'm hurting everyone. I'm just... failing. I'm failing. I'm failing. I'm failing."

Robin narrowed his eyes at her, concerned, as she continued to chant to herself under her breath. "Hey... hey Marian." She looked at him with wide eyes. "Let's just have a seat, calm down for a minute."

Trying to swallow her emotions, she nodded and followed him over to a bench where they could still keep an eye on Roland. He'd run over to the play castle and settled himself beneath it, arms crossed, clearly upset. As he sat on the bench, Robin kept one eye on his son and one on his son's mother who seemed to be doing almost as poorly as he was. Marian sat beside him, white-knuckling the armrest of the bench while taking deep breaths with her eyes closed. Robin eyed her nervously. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine," she said. "I'm just... spiraling. It'll pass. It always does."

He paused, taking her in for a moment. It looked like she'd aged ten years in the last five minutes, worn out and exhausted by their emotional conversation with Roland. It surprised him how much he still cared.

"So... the rain cloud?" he asked. "How'd you come up with that?"

"I didn't," she softly replied, shaking her head. "My therapist did."

Robin raised his eyebrows, surprised. "Your therapist?"

Marian nodded. "Dr. Turner. I've been calling her nearly every day since I've been here. She probably thinks I'm clingy." She shakily laughed.

"You still see her?"

"For now," Marian replied. "She's trying to find me a replacement in the city."

Robin remained silent, taking in this new information. Marian had a therapist. One she called nearly every day to help her with her problems. It shook him a bit. The idea of therapy just didn't fit the picture of the woman he thought he knew.

Dropping his gaze to the ground, he softly mumbled, "You never told me about the rain cloud." She looked over at him with guilt in her eyes, and he shrugged. "You said it came when you were a little older than Roland. You never told me."

Marian sighed, clenching her jaw. "I never told anyone."

A flash of hurt washed over him. "Well, excuse me for thinking I wasn't just anyone."

"Robin please..." She sounded exhausted as she spoke. Shaking her head, she let out a deep breath before turning to him on the bench. "Robin... I have dysthymia."

"Dysthima?"

"Chronic depression," she shakily explain. "I've had it since I was a teenager, alright. It sucks, I hate it and I am ashamed of it. So I keep it to myself."

Robin sat in silence, stunned. Again he found himself, looking back on their entire relationship, wondering how he'd missed so much about the woman he was in love with. The woman he'd loved was always happy, always smiling, never down or depressed.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled. "But you never... you didn't look as if..."

Marian chuckled, wryly. "I know. It was more apparent when I was a teen but after a decade or two I got really good at hiding it."

He hesitated before speaking again, hating himself for his next question. "So... the entire time we were together... you were depressed?"

Marian paused, thinking over her answer. "Robin the time we were together was some of the best of my life. When we first started dating I was feeling really good about myself. I was out of therapy but I was still taking my meds."

"You have medicine?"

"Antidepressants," she supplied. "It's not a big deal."

 _It is_ , he silently argued. There was something in her life that she needed, that was important for her and she'd never told him. That's a big deal.

"Anyway," she sighed. "It was good and we were happy and I was happy. Before Roland was born I hadn't had a dive in almost three years."

"And after he was born?" Robin softly asked.

Closing her eyes, Marian shook her head.

"Marian... please."

She let out a shaky breath. "After Roland was born... I started spiraling again," she admitted. "Not because of him, he was perfect. I just... I was so sad. I gave up my antidepressants while I was pregnant and then he was born and I wanted to breastfeed him. I stopped picking up my prescription. I started crying. It wasn't often at first but it didn't stop. And then I was crying all the time. In the bathroom, while you were at work, while you slept. I didn't... I didn't want you to see me like that. I didn't want you to think I was broken." She paused. "I thought you wouldn't want me anymore." 

It stung hearing her speak like this. To look back on what he thought of as the happiest time in his life and realize that she was drowning during all of it. Little moments started to pop up in his memory. Times where he'd wake up late at night and find her out of bed. Vacant looks that he'd assumed to be just motherhood exhaustion. She'd stopped painting when she was pregnant even though she'd always loved it. The absence of her old friends. All these little things stuck out in his memory, each one waving a bright red flag he'd ignored at the time.

"I... I wish that you would've told me."

"I know," she whispered. "Me too."

They both sat in silence for a minute, each of them thinking of how differently things could've turned out if she'd been more honest or if he'd been more observant. Perhaps, they'd still have a life together and maybe they wouldn't have needed to break their son's heart today.


	28. Mint Chocolate Chip

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Regina comforts Roland after his day with Robin and Marian.

When Regina came home the house was oddly quiet. Robin's car was in the drive way and she found him in the living room, sitting on the couch as Henry made the rounds with his walker. She could tell by the look on his face things at the park hadn't gone well. She wheeled herself to his side. "Hey, where's Anna?"

"I let her go when I got home," he sighed. Tilting his head, he gestured toward Henry. "I thought I'd spend some time with my nephew. After all, he's the only one in the house who still likes me."

Regina moaned, pity in her eyes. "I'm guessing he didn't take the news well."

Robin leaned forward, resting his elbows against his knees and shook his head. "It was an absolute nightmare." He sighed. "He cried and screamed and ran away from me. Pouted the whole way home and now... he won't even talk to me." He paused. "I've never seen him so..."

"Angry?" Regina supplied, immediately sympathetic. "It'll pass."

Even though he wasn't comforted, Robin nodded. "I just don't understand why he's mad at me. I mean he wasn't exactly kind to Marian either, but it's not like I'm the one who left."

"That doesn't matter," said Regina, shaking her head. "All that matters is that he's a kid, whose world got turned upside down and he didn't even have a choice in it. You're one of the adults. You're one of the people who could make choices and they were ones he didn't like. That puts you at fault to him. You have to know that."

Robin only grimaced but silently he knew she was right. He thought back to every time he'd been pulled from one foster home and pushed into another, how much he'd resented every person involved for holding so much power over him. It wasn't hard to imagine that Roland felt the same.

"Where is he now?" asked Regina.

"In bed," replied Robin. "Hasn't come down since we got home. He's probably still simmering at me."

Regina hummed, thoughtfully. "Would you mind carrying me up the stairs?"

\------------------------

Just as Robin suspected Roland was in bed, still in his clothes from the park and laying atop the blankets, when Regina finally pushed her way into the room. Her walker clanked against the floor but she could tell he was pretending not to notice her. He pouted when she sat on the bed, crossing his arms. Regina sighed gently patting him on the back.

"So I heard you had a hard day today."

Roland remained silent.

Regina pursed her lips. Oh the silent treatment, she remembered it well. After her parents' divorced she'd practically invented it.

"Well, you know the one thing that goes well with bad news? Mint chocolate ice cream."

She presented him with a pint of mint chocolate chip ice cream and two spoons. It was his favorite and she'd stored a tub of it away this morning, figuring he'd need it later. Roland narrowed his eyes at her offering before turning on his side, unimpressed.

Regina sighed, disappointed. "Roland I know you're angry. It's alright to be angry but you can be angry without ice cream or you can be angry with it."

After a moment's hesitation, Roland uncrossed his arms and reached out for a spoon. Regina smiled, passing one over to him. "That's what I thought."

He reluctantly sat up in bed as she peeled open the ice cream container. Dejectedly, he took a scooped up a mouthful ice cream and Regina followed suit. For a while they sat there in silence eating their mint chocolate chip ice cream. Most people would've gone for a pep talk - Regina had gotten more than her fair share when her mother had chosen to leave - but Regina didn't say a word. She knew Roland would talk when he was ready. And soon enough...

"My mama has a rain cloud."

He said it softly under his breath, almost as if he didn't want her to hear him. But she did. Nodding, she went for another scoop. "I know. Your daddy told me."

Roland set down his spoon, his eyes growing thoughtful. "It made her not want to be my mama anymore."

Regina softly shook her head. "Roland... that's not true."

"Then why doesn't she want to see me anymore?"

"She does want to see you, so much," she insisted. "It's just complicated. She doesn't want you to get hurt."

"Because of the rain cloud?"

"Yes because of the rain cloud," sighed Regina, setting down her spoon. "I know it's hard to understand right now but when you grow up I promise it'll all make sense to you. Just know that everyone still loves you and that won't ever change."

Roland bit his lip but nodded. "Aunt Regina, is being a grown up hard?"

"The hardest," she softly replied with an exaggerated frown. "So maybe try not to be so mad at your mom and dad. They have a lot of hard days."

"I'm not mad," mumbled Roland, reaching for his spoon again. "I'm sad."

Regina sighed, running her fingers through his hair. "That's okay sweetheart. You can be sad all you want today."

"Can I be sad and have ice cream?" he asked.

She smiled. "All you want."


	29. Tattoos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Based of these two prompts: OQ getting matching tattoos + Rehab prompt first anniversary of Daniels death.

On the anniversary of Daniel's death Robin was awake long before the sun came up. He hadn't slept a wink the night before, thoughts of his brother going in and out his mind. Memories, promises, things that should've been said but weren't. He wondered how different things would be if he was still alive, and not just for him.

Around five a.m. he gave up on sleeping and headed downstairs instead. He found Regina already awake, staring out of the kitchen window. Seeing her up so early was a surprise, the tears in her eyes were not. She looked up when she heard him walk in the room, hastily wiping at her eyes. 

"Hi..." 

"Hi." 

He joined her by the kitchen window, staring outside. The sun hadn't come up yet but light was starting to flow over the horizon and drops of dew had formed on the window pane. It was a new day. 

"Couldn't sleep?" Regina asked. 

"Not really," he replied. "I'm guessing it was the same for you." 

She nodded, letting out a shaky breath. Robin looked over at her and noticed she carried a frame photo in her hands. It was from their wedding day, a beautiful candid pic of her and Daniel cutting into their wedding cake. They looked so happy. They were so happy. 

Regina ran her hands over the frame, longingly. "I can't believe he's been gone a year. Feels like yesterday I was cutting that cake." 

"Feels like yesterday that you glared at me because I shouted for him to shove a piece in your face." 

An unexpected snicker escaped her. "Oh.. I was so pissed at you. And at him because he laughed." 

"He was smart though," chuckled Robin. "Didn't smear it in your face at all." 

"He knew better," she said with a sad smile. Staring at Daniel's face in the picture, her skin grew hot and a lump formed in her throat. "I don't know how the hell I'm supposed to get through this day." 

Another shuddering breath fell from her lips and she felt Robin's hands on her shoulders. "Minute by minute," he replied. "It's how I plan to go about it." 

"Great," she mumbled, rolling her eyes. "You know some of my friends called asking if I wanted to go out or do something today. I said no but now that it's... today, I just... I don't want to sit around the house. I will die if I don't find something to do." 

Robin hummed thoughtfully. "Well... I had something planned for today... but I don't think you'll like it." 

She looked up at him, skeptical. "Well, what did you plan to do?" 

\-----------------------

Five hours later, Regina found herself sitting outside of the sketchiest tattoo parlor that she'd ever seen. Bars were over the windows, illuminated by flickering neon lights. Inside, were people with various piercings and tattoos which she should've seen as a sign of a thriving business but only served to unnerve her. 

She grimaced. "This is where you got your lion tattoo?" 

Robin nodded. "I was young and fearless and an old friend said they could do it cheap. But don't let its appearance scare you off. The people here do good work. I should know." 

He tapped his right forearm where his lion tattoo resided. He'd gotten it when he was eighteen, wanting to show off his newfound independence. It'd cost him fifty bucks and turned out better than it'd had any right to, given the circumstances. He'd sung the praises of this shop ever since. 

"They did Daniel's tattoo too, you know," he said. 

Regina stared at him in surprise. "That batman symbol on his hip?" 

Robin laughed pushing her toward the door. "He was overwhelmed by adulthood and wanted to feel like a kid again. He was also a little bit drunk." 

Regina shook her head, disapprovingly. Daniel had said the same thing when she discovered it on their third date. She hadn't wanted to admit it but a part of her found it charmingly immature. 

When they walked inside, Robin was greeted by a wiry man with big brown eyes and short cropped hair. He didn't have many visible tattoos but Regina caught sight of a Queen of Hearts playing card tattoo on his left bicep. He grinned when he saw Robin walk in. "Locksely!" 

"Scarlet," greeted Robin, giving him a friendly hug. He gestured back toward her. "This is Regina, she came with me today." 

Will nodded at her, appreciatively. "You must be the widow. Makes sense you'd be here." 

"Does it?" she replied, tilting her head curiously. 

Robin looked away, sheepishly before nodding at will. "Did you finish the design for me?" 

"Yesterday night," he replied, passing Robin a sketchbook. "Kept it simple just like you asked." 

Looking at the sketch, Regina's heart pounded in her chest. It was a simple date but she recognized it. The day Daniel died. She looked up at Robin. "You want this as a tattoo?" 

He shrugged. "Daniel always said it was good to remember my pain. That it should remind me of how far I've come." 

"It's nice." She nodded, solemnly, looking at the tattoo once more. It was simple but so powerful, at least for her. She bit her lip, before asking Will. "Do you have room in your schedule for one more?" 

\---------------

She watched Robin get his tattoo first. He took the pain like a champ, choosing to have the day's date inked on the right side of his chest. The sight of it made her nervous. If it was painful for him, she doubted it would be any easier for her. Still, if she could get through the past year, then enduring one tattoo should be no problem. She decided to get it on her right shoulder blade. It was enough to feel that it was there she didn't need to see it every day. 

When it was done, will used to mirror so she could see it for herself. A part of her was worried that seeing those numbers etched into her skin would paralyze her all over again. Instead, she looked at them and felt... pride. She'd lost so much that day but she'd also discovered a strength inside herself that she never thought existed. 

She'd survived it all. She was strong. 

 


	30. Bed Sharing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sharing a bed together makes Robin and Regina think of moving on from their previous relationships.

"I hate you." 

"So you've said."

Regina glared at Robin as he laid on the other side of her bed, the same side he'd been sleeping on for the last three nights. It'd all started when he'd accidentally let Roland watch the Haunting of Hill House with him. Unsurprisingly, when bedtime came every shadow was a ghost and every sound was a monster. Roland woke up screaming and running into her bedroom, afraid that she wouldn't be able to run away from the monsters on her own. After attempting to argue against his tears for half an hour, she reluctantly agreed to let Robin "watch over them" until Roland fell asleep.

She'd hoped one night would be enough to do the trick but three nights later the Locksely boys were still in her bed.

Robin sighed. Dressed in the old white tee and sweatpants he wore to bed, he seemed almost as annoyed about the whole situation as she was. The two of them laid side by side with Roland in-between them and Robin on top of the blankets instead of underneath like his son, her beside lamp still on. "You know, I still think it's kind of sweet he was concerned about you."

"Yes it's so sweet he'd rather you carry me in your arms than leave me to crawl from the ghosts on my own," she sarcastically replied. She gently ran her fingers over Roland's curls. "Can you take him upstairs yet?"

"No," Robin whispered. "He's only been asleep for five minutes. If I pick him up now, he'll wake up and we'll have to start all over again."

Regina rolled her eyes, frustrated. "I am so angry at you right now."

"How is this my fault?"

"You're the one who let him watch that scary Netflix show."

"I didn't let him," argued Robin. "I thought he was asleep. He was completely still when I checked on him."

"Yeah, he was petrified with terror," she hissed under her breath. Softly moaning, she shut her eyes. "I can't believe this is my life."

Robin glared at her. "Hey, I know it's annoying but he's five years old. It's not that big a deal."

"Maybe not to you," she said, annoyed. "But last year I thought the only man I would share a bed with was my husband. And now I have to share a bed with you."

"Oh..." Robin averted his gaze, growing pensive. "I'm sorry."

Looking at his apologetic puppy dog face, Regina sighed. "It's not... that bad. I just... this made me think about that. I'm not trying to guilt you, or whatever."

"No I know," he softly replied. "I just kind of realized that... you're the first woman I've shared a bed with since Marian."

"Really?" Regina raised her eyebrows, surprised. "You haven't... gone out, at all?"

Robin twisted his face at her. "No I haven't 'gone out.' When would I have time for it?"

"I don't know what you do all day," she countered. "I figured you had one of those day sex apps."

"Well I don't," he laughed, shaking his head. "I've been sleeping alone for a really long time."

Regina nodded, understandingly. "I get it... believe me, I do."

It'd been one year since Daniel died. Every night since then she'd climbed into an empty bed, an act she hadn't expected to for the rest of her life. For the first few months she'd cried, she spent the next few missing his arm around her and his warmth against her skin. And now... well, she supposed she could say she was used to it. However, being in bed with Robin and Roland reminded her of what it felt like sharing a bed with someone, sharing a bed with a family even. When Henry had first come to stay with them, she and Daniel would spend hours in the bed with him, laying on their sides watching him sleep or laugh. She realized that she missed that. More than missed it, she wanted to feel it again. She just couldn't imagine that future with someone other than Daniel.

Shaking thoughts of her husband from her head, she asked Robin, "It's been a year since you ended things with Marian. You thinking of getting back out there?"

"I probably should," he softly, replied. "It's not like she's wasted any time."

"What does that mean?"

Robin sighed. "I went to drop Roland off with her for the weekend... and she had someone there."

Stunned, Regina's jaw dropped. "Who?"

"Some woman, snow blonde with huge eyes," he grumbled. "Elsa was her name. Said she was her brother's roommate."

Regina remembered Marian saying that she'd spent the last year staying with her brother. She guessed that meant she spent a lot of time with this Elsa.  "Well, they could just be friends?" she reasoned.

Robin shook his head. "No. Neither of them would say it to me or Roland but they didn't have to. It was all in the looks and touches."

"Well, that has to sting," she mumbled, unsure of what to say.

"It did but I guess I'll take it as the kick I needed," he said, dejectedly. "I mean I knew it was over between me and Marian but now I know it's _over_ over. It's time to move on."

"Does that mean you'll be downloading an app?"

He scoffed. "Maybe not an app but I might allow myself a night out every now and again."

"Good for you."

A few minutes later, when they were both sure Roland was deeply asleep, Robin scooped up his son and bid her goodnight. After watching him walk out of her room, Regina opened the drawer of her nightstand and pulled her wedding room out from its box. Silently lying in bed, she watched the light of beside lamp play off its gold band. She might've taken the ring off but it hadn't stopped her from feeling like Daniel's wife. Not one bit. She felt stuck in some sort of matrimonial limbo. Not quite married, not quite single.

Though the question crossed her mind every now and again, she knew in her heart that she wasn't ready to move on from him yet, not in a romantic way. But maybe, she was ready to accept that one day she would be.

 

 


	31. Birthday Wish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: R&R + Henry fluff plus a flashback to Henry's first birthday.

Henry's first birthday snuck up on Regina. It was only three months after Daniel died, and in her grief she'd completely forgotten about it. She only remembered when, a week before his birthdays, Mal asked if she still wanted to do a party.    
  
Honestly, her first instinct was to say no but she quickly removed that thought from her head. Yes, Daniel was gone and that pain still festered inside of her but it was their son's first birthday. She couldn't let that day pass without a celebration of some sort.    
  
So she scrounged up a few inivations, ordered a cake and some party decorations for Henry's big day. The invite list would be small though. Just Mal and a few other moms and babies from his daycare center. Hopefully, they'd leave their looks of pity at home.    
  
She woke up early that morning and sat with Henry on her lap as she ate breakfast. As he bounced on her knee, she realized how big he was getting. He'd already taken his first steps and moved on to solid foods. He was growing up so fast. For the hundredth time she wished that Daniel was here to see it.    
  
"Up early?" 

Robin walked in the kitchen, making a beeline for the coffee pot. As the scent of Starbucks medium roast filled the room, he smiled at his nephew. "And how is the birthday boy this morning?"    
  
Regina pulled a grin onto her face. "Excited for his big day, I hope."    
  
"I bet he is," said Robin, running his hand over Henry's head. "I can tell he's already got presents on the brain." He glanced at Regina. "Speaking of which, I have something for you."    
  
Trotting over to the fridge, he pulled out a white bakery box and presented her with an oversized strawberry cupcake with white frosting. Regina chuckled as he set it in front of her.    
  
"Sweet, but I think a cupcake for breakfast might be overdoing it for a one-year-old."    
  
"It's not for him. It's for you," he explained, sticking a candle in its center.    
  
She raised her eyebrows. "Me?"    
Robin nodded. "This afternoon you will be up to your elbows in babies and cakes and toys. You'll be so busy you won't even get a moment to consider how far you've gotten." He smiled at her. "I mean, you got him through a whole year. And I know it hasn't been the easiest one on record."    
  
She let out a soft huff, wanting to argue but reluctantly agreeing, "No it hasn't."    
  
"Well I say that deserves a pat on the back... and a wish to boot."    
  
He lit the candle and Regina stared at it, biting her lip.    
  
"Make a wish," he said.    
  
Closing her eyes, Regina blew out the candle as Henry giggled and clapped. I've made it to his first birthday, she thought. I wish that I get to see every one that comes after.


	32. House Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hi! I have a prompt for Rehab: Robin and Regina having a conversation about moving on, which leads to an awkward situation between them...

 

Hands gripping the metal Regina slowly shuffled through the parallel bar. Robin stood on the sideline encouraging her as she puffed and moved her feet forward as best as she could. It'd been 13 months since the accident and she was out of her wheelchair mostly. She could walk with proper support but she fatigued easily. Robin hoped that in a few weeks her endurance would be back to almost 100 percent.

 

"Good work," said Robin when she reached the end of the bars. "You did two more rounds than last weeks."

 

"I can't wait until I never have to see these bars again," she huffed as Robin helped her over the exercise mats.

 

As he helped her stretch her legs, his phone buzzed. Smirking, she asked, "Hot date?"

 

"Yes, actually."

 

Regina lifted her eyebrows, caught off guard. "Really?" she drawled. "With who?"

 

"A woman," he unhelpfully answered. When Regina stared him down for more he reluctantly added, "Will introduced me to her. We're going out on Friday."

 

"Oh," she mumbled, trying to redirect her attention back to her stretches. "So I guess you really meant it when you said you were ready to move on."

 

He shrugged. "I figured I should at least put in some effort. One date wouldn't kill me, I guess." He paused. "So if you wouldn't mind keeping an eye on Roland for me..."

 

"I've got him," she said, waving him off. "You enjoy your date."

 

She hoped she didn't sound bitter when she said that. Robin was right. It was time he moved on from Marian and she was glad for him, truly. She just couldn't understand why it made her so uncomfortable.

 

"Speaking of which... I though maybe we should discuss some logistics," Robin cautiously drawled.

 

"Logistics?"

 

"Yeah, you know regarding me and how and where I can... entertain any female companions?"

 

Regina narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you asking me if you can have sex in my house?"

 

"Well... yes."

 

She stared at him feeling her gut twist in disgust. "Oh my god..."

 

"Well it's not like I have many options," he argued. "I just figured I should check first."

 

Regina growled at him, disgruntled. Truthfully, the thought of Robin parading his one-night stands through the house made her rage prickle under skin but she supposed she couldn't ban him from it. He does pay rent after all.

 

She sighed. "Fine. But I have rules."

 

"Of course you do."

 

"I don't want half naked women running through the house when my son is there."

 

"Agreed," he swiftly replied. "I'll only bring people over when the boys are out."

 

"Two, no sexual explorations," she ordered. "Whatever you do, you do in your room. There will be no traveling to the living room or the kitchen or any other places where I spend extended time."

 

He smirked. "That's cruel but fair."

 

"Anything else you want you go to her place or a motel."

 

"Fine." He replied, satisfied. "Anything else?"

 

"No," she softly answered, shaking her head. "Have fun on your date."

 

Dear god. She can actually taste how bitter she sounds. 

**Author's Note:**

> Send me a prompt if you'd like to see something!


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